Joan M. Cherry

Measuring the reputation of web sites: a preliminary exploration

We describe the preliminary results from a pilot study, which assessed the perceived reputation - authority and trustworthiness - of the output from five WWW indexing/ranking tools. The tools are based on three techniques: external link structures, internal content, or human selection/indexing. Twenty-two participants reviewed the output from each tool and assessed the reputation of the retrieved sites.

Online scenario-based task help

The authors describe scenario-based task help, a design approach for online task help that attempts to assist new users in accomplishing useful work quickly and to provide quick-reference task information for users familiar with a product. The main idea of this approach is to understand the users goals and associated tasks, to construct scenarios reflecting these tasks, and then to map the tasks to user interactions with a product. The authors describe this approach and a prototype that demonstrates the approach. >

Online help: effects of content and writing style on user performance and attitudes

A study that compared the usability of two versions of online help for an Application System/400 (AS/400) product is described. The long-term goal was to develop empirically based guidelines for writing online help, particularly for application-enabling products. A portion of the online help text for one AS/400 product was revised. The revisions included changes in the content, writing style, and presentation of the text. The original version and the revised version of the help were compared in an interactive (online) task environment and in three hardcopy reviews. In the interactive environment, participants who used the revised version made 40% fewer requests and viewed 45% fewer help screens than those who used the original version. There was no significant difference in task performance (quality of work) between those who used the original and the revised versions of the help. The results of the hardcopy reviews showed that participants strongly preferred the revised version. >

Modes of presentation for on-line help: full screen, split screen and windowed formats

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the format used to display on-line help (full screen, split screen and windowed) on user performance and attitudes. Three prototypes of a programmers editor were developed. The first prototype provided help in full screen format. The second prototype provided split screen help and the third windowed help. It was hypothesized that user performance would be best with windowed help, and that attitudes would be most positive toward windowed help. In addition it was believed that windowed help would fare best because it would allow users to see and work with about two-thirds of the product screen while the help was displayed. Forty-five application programmers participated. Each subject performed three editing tasks using one form of on-line help. No significant differences in performance or attitude were found between those who used full screen, split screen and windowed help. However, comments made by subjects during the assessment suggest...

‘Creating a better understanding of who we are’: a survey of graduates of a museum studies program

Abstract This paper reports on the findings of a mail survey of 179 respondents who graduated from a masters level program in museum studies at the University of Toronto between 1970 and 2007. The survey gathered information about the professional experiences of these graduates, what they perceive to be the necessary knowledge and skills in the profession, and their perceptions of current and future job prospects in the museum field. More than two-thirds of all respondents indicated that they had pursued the degree because they were either following their dreams or the program was appealing. Despite the many challenges professionals encounter in the field – e.g., sustainable funding, remaining relevant, and engaging the public – respondents reported that museums provided rewarding places to develop professional careers.

Designing for diversity: the user interface for a hypermedia information system on a university campus

Abstract The University of Toronto hopes to encourage development of a campus-wide information system consisting of many walk-up-and-use components. The first component to be developed was an instructional program for users of the librarys online catalogue. The interface had to be attractive, usable by novices, and flexible enough to carry the content. Much effort was expended in ensuring that it met these criteria. User testing played an important role in the design of the interface. The design and testing of the systems entry point, navigation aids, and templates for spatial arrangements of information on the screen are discussed.

The Archival Metrics Toolkit: Development and implementation

User based evaluation in archives and manuscript repositories lags behind that of libraries and museums. This paper discusses the development and testing of the Archival Metrics Toolkit which is designed to support archivists in conducting user-based evaluations. The current Toolkit includes 5 different questionnaires focused on assessing various archival services in Colleges and Universities as well as instructions for administration and data analysis. The questionnaires aim to gather feedback from (1) onsite users of the reading room, (2) students who have attended an orientation session and (3) instructors who use the archives for teaching, as well as (4) online users of the website and (5) online users of finding aids.

Usability beyond the interface: Designing a portal for text analysis

We report on a two-phase usability analysis of the Text Analysis Portal for Research (TAPoR). The first phase consisted of 20 contextual inquiry interviews and the second phase, a further 17 usability interviews with text analysis researchers. Findings suggest that the conceptual design of the portal needs to emphasize text content, functionality and text analysis tasks rather than text format and text analysis tasks, and that terminology was a major obstacle in use of the portal. Study results were used to guide the re-design of the portal.