Website Usability:
A Window into a Learning
Environment
Lyn Leslie and Julia Gross
Edith Cowan University Library

Paper originally delivered at
Transforming Information & Learning Conference
(TILC) September 2006
Making and Keeping Connections: Life, Learning
and Information Networks
School of Computer and Information Science
Edith Cowan University
http://conferences.scis.ecu.edu.au/TILC2007/
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Academic library websites
• Online learning environment for students
• Need to follow sound design principles
• Need to provide functionality and ease of
navigation
• Concerns existed regarding the current
access to information resources
3

ECU Usability study
• Action research process to determine
design improvements
• Evidence gathering
• How users locate information resources
accessible from its website
4

Research methodology
• Jakob Nielsen’s usability testing principles
• Usability tests with students
• Across the three metropolitan campuses
• Across disciplines
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Student Cognitive behaviour
• Cognitive behaviour
• Information seeking behaviour
• Student approaches to a research topic
• Construction of pathways
• Usability studies
– web design feedback
– information seeking behaviour
– students’ approaches to online learning
6

Library Forum
• 2005 ECU librarians forum
• Many new online resource formats
• Usage statistics were high
• Need to review presentation
• Presentation of Electronic Resources
7

Presentation of Electronic
Resources
• Focus on access to information resources
website
• Promotion of federated searching
– Metaquest
• Goal of semester one 2006
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Research Methodology
• Webscans of other library sites were
conducted to identify preferred access
options
• Consistency of terminology and need to
avoid jargon
• Student involvement – usability tests
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Jakob Nielsen
• “On the Web, usability is a necessary
condition for survival. If a website is
difficult to use, people leave “(Nielsen, 2003, para.5) ”
– Learn ability
– Efficiency
– Memorability
– Errors
– Satisfaction
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Nielsen and Usability testing
• Find representative users
• Ask users to perform representative tasks
• Observe what the users do
– Where they succeed
– Where they have difficulties
• 5 testers is sufficient
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Usability testing process
• Four tasks targeting key sections of
website:
• Catalogue
• Online databases
• Virtual reference gateway
• Internet search tools
• Observation and recording results
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Usability Tasks and Results
Task 1 required the student to locate a
specific book
Task 2 requested students to locate two
journal articles on the psychological
aspects of web site design.
Task 3 requested students to find a link to
the Morgan Gallop Poll website
Task 4 specific information about meeting
with Nobel Prize winners
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Website Design Improvements
• A move from listing resources by format to
listing them by action
• For example –
– Library Catalogue became find Books, CDs
and more (Catalogue).
– Online Databases became find Journal
Articles (Databases).
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Library website snapshot 2005
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Library website snapshot 2006
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Information Literacy
• Website design problem or information literacy?
• opportunity for observation
• students’ approaches to seeking information on
a topic.
• Approaches
• pathways chosen differed. The
• students tended to be persistent
• sound navigation skills.
• Reading screen correctly on the was an issue
• Baulking at the unknown was common
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Constructivist learning theory
• each student is individual
• individual makes their own meaning of the
information
• rethinking of our approach at ECU
• Usability Study de-brief
• Information literacy opportunity
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Online learning and
instructional design aspects
• ECU library website - a web-based
learning environment
• engaging with learners in an online
learning environment
• librarians are creating information rich
learning environments
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Usability Study Findings
• vital data on web design,
• usability
• accessibility
• redesign of the home page,
– new look and feel that has been
– enthusiastically received
– re-testing in 2006
– problems students have with the site which relate less to design
and more to information literacy.
observation provided an insight into how students learn
in the online learning environment of the library website.
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Conclusion
• The online environment provides a wealth
of data on user behaviour
• usability study methodology was effective
• much scope for future testing
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