Document Type
Article
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2015.1124740
Publication Date
Winter 2-16-2016
Keywords
academic libraries, database searching, information literacy, information retrieval, research methodology, user experience, user interfaces, website design
Abstract
The researchers conducted a task-based usability test of the effectiveness of online research beginning on the library Web site homepage. The participants included five university faculty members, six graduate students, and six undergraduate students. All participants reported feeling satisfied with their overall research experience, though most were unable to effectively complete all the research tasks of the test. The researchers identified weaknesses in the approach and process of many participants, and overall usability issues of the library discovery tool and other library Web site pages and research interfaces. Findings indicate the need to strategically incorporate self-service information literacy and research skills help into the library Web site, and to implement navigation and design changes to the library homepage, discovery tool interface, online catalog, and across all the library's Web services.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Chase, Darren; Trapasso, Elizabeth; and Tolliver, Robert, "The Perfect Storm: Examining User Experience and Conducting a Usability Test to Investigate a Disruptive Academic Library Web Site Redevelopment" (2016). Library Faculty Publications. 1.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/library_articles/1
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Journal of Web Librarianship on 02/16/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19322909.2015.1124740.