# Employing a Chatbot for News Dissemination during Crisis: Design, Implementation and Evaluation
## 3 Research Questions (RQs) and Method  
Based on the preceding theoretical analysis, the study sought to address the following research questions:  
RQ1. Which functions should news chatbots perform when used in crisis reporting?  
RQ2. How can news chatbots be designed and implemented to be trustworthy, reliable and acting in the users' interests when used in crisis reporting?  
Based on the ideal features of a chatbot, as earlier analyzed, a news chatbot was created based on the COVID-19 information offered on the web platform of the BBC. The study opted for the implementation of a retrieval based chatbot with predetermined responses based on specific requirements included in this study. Specifically, the scope of the effort was to develop and evaluate a news chatbot that would offer an alternative method of accessing existing information. Moreover, since such a solution is being proposed for crisis situations, a specific one was selected that could be deployed rapidly and does not require sophisticated programming. It is worth noting that chatbot implementations based on natural language interaction can be considered to be overrated for disseminating existing structured (in some sense) information (e.g., symptoms, existing cures, available medication, restriction in movement, etc.).  
The specific news organization was selected first because it attracts a global audience through using the English language, and second because it presents not only national information regarding the UK but also global information on the rest of the world, in contrast to other national or local news organizations in Europe that tend to focus more on national/local aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This makes it easier for study participants to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the news chatbot presented, as they are more familiar with the available information.  
Once the news chatbot was created, two groups of journalism students (consisting of 45 participants each) were asked to evaluate its performance, both via mobile and computer screens. The questionnaire used for the focus groups' evaluation is presented in Appendix A. The two focus groups were independent and did not interact with each other. The first group was selected from 2 nd-year students attending the BA Program of Journalism in the University of Cyprus; the second group was selected from 2 nd-year students attending the BA Program of Journalism in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. All participants in both groups were familiar with news chatbot applications, having earlier attended relevant teaching modules. The ratio of men to women was around 1:1, and their ages ranged from 20 to 24 years old. They were deemed appropriate to evaluate the news chatbot mainly due to their familiarization with relevant applications. After all, this study is not concerned with the overall evaluation of using news chatbots; instead, the main target, as already stated, is to design an effective news chatbot to be used during a crisis situation.  
Both focus groups were conducted by using the Microsoft Teams Platform for distance learning courses by the same independent researcher/moderator who guided the interactive conversation. The moderator was accompanied by each group's instructor, who remained only as an observer throughout the online conversation. The initial questions were based on the specific features of effective news chatbots, as earlier analyzed in the Theoretical Framework. In the next stage of the study, all evaluation comments were categorized regarding functionality, reliability, design and specific features of the news chatbot (see analysis below) and embedded in the final application.