Erica Olmsted-Hawala presented these findings at HCII 2013 in Las Vegas. Data are from a lab-based experimental usability study, in which we showed that older adults have greater difficulties with cognitively challenging tasks. However, even young adults have difficulties with complex data tables that are often found on government Web sites.

1. 1
Age-Related Differences in Search
Strategy and Performance When Using
a Data-Rich Web Site
Erica L. Olmsted-Hawala, U.S. Census Bureau;
Jennifer Romano Bergstrom, Fors Marsh Group;
Wendy A. Rogers, Georgia Institute of Technology
HCII July 24, 2013

2. What We Studied
• How adults search for information on a Web site
• Whether age-related differences between
younger, middle-age, and older adults actually
exist
• Identify any performance or strategy differences

3. Why?
• Understand the nature
of the difficulties people
have in order to provide
guidance for Web site
design and training

4. Conclusion Preview
• With a more cognitively challenging search
task, age-related differences are apparent
• Online data tables are difficult for all age
groups

5. Agenda
Methods
Findings
Conclusions

6. Agenda
Methods
Findings
Conclusions

7. Methods
• 61 participants in Metro DC area
• Each session was eye tracked
• Three age groups
– Young adults ages 18-28
– Middle-age adults ages 40-51
– Older adults ages 65-76
• Worked in silence

8. Internet Experience
Age group Significance
Younger Middle-age Older
Ease in learning to use
new Web sites*
1.5 1.4 2.3 F (2,53)=6.08, p<.01
Ease in using the
Internet*
1.1 1.2 1.4 F (2,53)=2.93, p=.06
*Scale: 1 (Not difficult at all) – 5 (Extremely difficult).

9. Example Tasks
• Easy task: You want to learn more about
Maryland, and specifically about how many
people live there. How many people live in
Maryland?
• Hard task: You are working on a project that
involves work environments in the US, and
you are interested in the history of coal
mining. How many coal mining companies
were in the US in 2007?

10. Usability Metrics
• Accuracy
– Percent of users who successfully completed
task
• Efficiency
– Mean time to make first click
– Mean time to complete task
• Successful completes only
– Mean number of clicks to complete task
• Successful completes only

11. Eye-tracking Metrics
• Eye movement patterns in pre-
defined Areas of Interest (AOIs)
• Total number of fixations
– Do participants look at correct
area of the screen?
• Total number of unique visits
– Do participants re-check the
correct answer before deciding it
was correct?

13. Agenda
Methods
Findings
Conclusions

14. Hard Task Performance Measure
0 20 40 60 80
Younger
Middle-Age
Older
Accuracy by age group
Accuracy by age group

15. Efficiency
• Easy task: No age related differences
• Hard task:
– Older adults took longer to make the first click
when initially starting their task
– No age related differences in how long it took
to complete the task
– No age related difference in number of clicks
to the answer page

16. p<.05

17. Eye tracking
• Easy task start page
– No age-related differences in where participants
looked on main page on AOIs
– No age-related differences in how many times
participants re-checked the AOI before making a
click
• Easy & Hard task answer page
– No age related differences in where participants
looked
– No age related differences in how many times
participant re-checked their answer
• All participants re-checked!

18. Agenda
Methods
Findings
Conclusions

19. Limitations
• Measures were on successful completions
only
• Fewer older adults made it to the correct
answer page (17 younger adults vs 9 older
adults)
• Older adults that made it to the end of the
task may have been higher functioning
than average older adults

20. Conclusions
• More cognitively challenging tasks indicate
some age related differences
• Number of clicks and time to complete
tasks -- with a larger user group
differences might be apparent
• Eye tracking (as measured by number of
fixations in AOIs) did not differ by age

21. Future Work
• Additional analyses on eye-tracking
patterns for unsuccessful searchers to
understand their performance difficulties

22. Future of Data Tables
• Putting complex data tables online appears
to cause usability issues for all age groups
(they all re-check their answers)
• When displaying complex data online
should consider new ways to
visualize
– Simplified interface
– Reduced distracters
– Access to apps

23. Contact info
Erica L. Olmsted-Hawala
erica.l.olmsted.hawala@census.gov
301-763-4893