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Users and Metasearch Applications: New Challenges for Usability Assessment

Users and Metasearch Applications: New Challenges for Usability Assessment. William E. Moen, Ph.D. <wemoen@unt.edu> Texas Center for Digital Knowledge University of North Texas Denton, Texas. Presented at Access 2003: Extending Our Abilities

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Users and Metasearch Applications: New Challenges for Usability Assessment

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  1. Users and Metasearch Applications:New Challenges for Usability Assessment William E. Moen, Ph.D.<wemoen@unt.edu> Texas Center for Digital Knowledge University of North Texas Denton, Texas Presented at Access 2003: Extending Our Abilities October 3, 2003 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

  2. Access personal journey • 1999: The Z Texas Profile: Improving Z39.50 Interoperability with a Focus on User Requirements • 2000: Z39.50 Update: Profiles and Semantic Interoperability • 2001: Bath Profile Update: An International Z39.50 Specification for Library Applications and Resource Discovery • 2001: Z-Interop: The Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed • 2002: Z39.50 for Finding It All • 2003: Users and Metasearch Applications Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  3. Standards in service of applications • Preparing technical infrastructure for broadcast searching / metasearch • Profiles specifying Z39.50 implementation • Defining searches • Solving interoperability problems Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  4. Where are we now? • Some support among library technology vendors for Z39.50 profiles • Many candidate search targets don’t support Z39.50 profiles or Z39.50 at all • Commercial metasearch products and applications emerging in the past several years • NISO Metasearch Initiative • Assessing what we’ve got and how to improve Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  5. Metasearch • Applications with: • Single search interface • Broadcast searches to multiple targets • Search targets may be • Relatively homogeneous (e.g., library catalogs) • Very diverse (e.g., format, topical coverage, etc,) • Applications are faced with search targets • That are accessible via standard protocols (e.g., Z39.50) or proprietary APIs or screen-scraping • That support few or many common access points • That support various record formats for exchange Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  6. The challenge If our users make it to the library's web site at all, chances are they are confronted with library terminology they don't understand and a long list of databases they have to decipher and choose among. The result? Libraries are losing potential users. Librarians license valuable and costly full-text databases that we know contain the information researchers are seeking. But in a three-click world, each vendor's database remains a separate silo of information that our users don't find. Even if patrons are familiar with searching the OPAC, that won't help them retrieve articles. Library services that require training or require the user to come to the library undermine the advantages of licensing electronic content. Judy Luther -- 10/1/2003, Trumping Google? Metasearching's Promise, Library Journal Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  7. Metasearch issues • User interface • Collection selection (search targets) • Reliable access and connection • Search functionality • Presenting results • Navigating and subsequent searching • Performance Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  8. Library of Texas A Virtual Library Reaching Across Boundaries to Extend Access to Information Resources • Collection Boundaries • Organizational Boundaries • Format Boundaries Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  9. ZLOT project • Z Implementation Component of the Library of Texas (ZLOT) • Develop standards-based approach for the virtual library • Project Focus • Identify requirements for resource discovery service • Demonstrate feasibility and utility of resource discovery tools • Assist in implementation and testing • Phase 1 – 2002: Design and specifications • Phase 2 – 2003: Implementation Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  10. Service-centric virtual library User Group User Group User Group User Group Virtual Library Services Library Resources Library Technology Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  11. Resource Sharing Patron Account Library Information Authorization Reference Personalization Financial Education Resource Discovery Virtual library services Standard Information Interchange Among Services Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  12. Resource discovery: Supporting user tasks Personalize Browse Evaluate Acquire Select Collection Search Save Common User Interface Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  13. Content Standards-basedSearch & RetrievalProtocols Content Content OAIRepository Common Search Interface Content User Interface Content Content Proprietary or Non-standardSearch & Retrieval Protocols Content Texas Library Directory Database Content Relational Database To Power the RDS Application Resource discovery:Operational view Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  14. LOT RDS:Summary of key requirements • Customizable interface • For local library presence • For personalization • Common interface for search and retrieval • Simple and advanced searching • Single database searching • Broadcast searching across similar/dissimilar databases • Tools to help users select search targets • Common display for results • Indications of availability and “how to get” Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  15. Database-driven customization • Texas Library Directory Database (TLDD) • Multi-use relational database • RDS functionality driven by TLDD • Association of user with home library • Access/authentication mechanisms • Preliminary set of search targets • Geographic proximity • Strength of collection • Interlibrary loan request initiation Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  16. TLDD overview • General Organization Details • Person Details • Address Details • Collection Details • Collection – describes Collections of resource items or resource item descriptions • Collection Strength – describes the strength of a Collection • Service Details • Service – contains information about the Services delivered by an Organization • Access Policy – describes Access Policies for a given Service • Z Protocol Information - records information about the level of support of a given Z39.50 Service delivery process • Common Use • Alias – Supports the recording of names, abbreviations, acronyms, standard numbers, and symbols used to identify an entity Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  17. Optimizing the RDS • Assumptions • Multiple user groups • Diversity of information needs, behaviors, and expectations • Users may not understand distributed search applications • User interface presents complex functionality • Strategy to optimize • Usability assessment • Helping users develop new mental model Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  18. Informing the RDS product • Heuristic evaluation by usability expert • Acceptance testing by ZLOT staff • Use of original technical specifications • Identified usability issues • User testing • Ongoing testing by developers, ZLOT and TSLAC staff Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  19. Usability considerations • Users • Categorization of users based on demographics, skills, needs, behaviors • Current library users vs. new users • Interface is really about functionality • Presents application and its components • Components support various user tasks • Usability criteria, measures, and procedures Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  20. Jakob Nielsen Learnability Efficiency Memorability Errors Satisfaction Other quality attributes (e.g., utility) Whitney Quesenbery Effective Efficient Engaging Error tolerant Easy to learn Usability criteria Quesenbery, W. (2002). Getting Started: Using the 5Es to understand users. http://www.wqusability.com/articles/getting-started.html Nielson, J. (2003). Usability 101. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  21. Application & components • Technical components • Interoperability components • User interface components • Task components • Collection selection components • Searching components • Retrieval components • Personalization components Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  22. Usability framework Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  23. Priority usability issues • Do user understand the service? • Are user tasks supported? • Tasks represented by application functionality • Selection of search targets • Searching • Simple • Advanced • Refining searches • Reviewing results • Navigating • Accessing/acquiring • Is system performance adequate? Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  24. 5 Es of usability revisited Engaging Easy to Learn Resource Discovery Service Efficient Effective Error Tolerant Adapted from Quesenbery, W. (2002). Getting Started: Using the 5Es to understand users. Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  25. Next steps • Prepare a formal usability assessment • Develop measures based on 5 Es to assess RDS components • Develop scenarios for users to exercise all functionality • Conduct user testing • Inform enhancements to the product • Generalize usability assessment methodology other for metasearch applications, resource discovery services, and virtual libraries Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  26. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  27. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  28. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  29. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  30. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  31. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  32. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  33. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  34. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  35. RDS example Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  36. DC proceedings/Seamark Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  37. DC proceedings/Seamark Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  38. Metasearch usability • Selecting appropriate search targets • Default set of targets • User selection from target list • Getting contextual info from users for search • Intermediate search against representations of targets • Making sense of search results • Linear lists of results • Using metadata to categorize results and show relationships • Hierarchical faceted metadata Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  39. References • NISO Metasearch Initiative <http://www.niso.org/committees/MetaSearch-info.html> • Library of Texas Initiative <http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/lot/> <http://www.unt.edu/zlot> • Hierarchical Faceted Metadata and Search • The Flamenco Search Interface Project <http://bailando.sims.berkeley.edu/flamenco.html> • Faceted Metadata Search and Browse <http://www.searchtools.com/info/faceted-metadata.html> Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

  40. William E. Moen wemoen@unt.edu Library of Texas<http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/lot> ZLOT Project<http://www.unt.edu/zlot/> Texas Center for Digital Knowledge<http://www.txcdk.org/> Access 2003 -- October 3, 2003 -- Vancouver, British Columbia

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