uksg conference 2016 breakout session - search and discovery: defining user behaviour, suzanne...
TRANSCRIPT
Search and discovery: defining user behaviourImproving the Library Search interface
Suzanne Tatham Andrea Fallas
Aims
Understand more about how people search for and discover information.
Identify patterns of behaviour to help paint a picture of library users.
Generate data to help us improve the experience of carrying out common tasks around library search & discovery.
Use lean methods to keep costs minimal.
Contextual inquiry
Personas
Usability testing
Search results
“I don’t know why I don’t use Library Search for articles … I think it stresses me out”
– Maria, 3rd yr UG
https://youtu.be/jv5KLSIQ7Z0
Item details
“There’s so much white space, you think there’s an error, like it hasn’t loaded properly.”
– Sharon, Lecturer
https://youtu.be/L43iy24qcDg
Facets
Left-hand facets are underused
Some use of ‘Item type’ and ‘Author’
‘Books’ selected most often
– Max, 3rd yr UG
Facet use = 5% of all search sessions
Filters
“This is the thing that annoys me … there’s more than one entry for the author”
– Felippe, Doctoral researcher
Icons & images
“It doesn’t make it clear from the search whether it’s a review … I find that quite frustrating”
– Elisa, Postgraduate student
https://youtu.be/up5rOU97dTA
Can you identify these icons?
Icons & images
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Can you identify these icons?
Icons & images
ReviewArticle
Legal document
Book
Journal Conference proceeding
Multiple versions
“I wouldn’t click on that.”
– Lucy, 3rd yr UG
Recommendations
“I must have noticed it. I just never thought to go onto it.”
– Hannah, 2nd yr UG
https://youtu.be/hXxRBOrWuhA
Saving
People have their own methods of saving / collecting
https://youtu.be/adyli4xnPMk
Paper usability testing
Paper usability testing
Using paper forces people to break down their interactions.
Visual clutter
“There’s so much information on this page. Being from a fast-food generation … you expect everything to be spoon-fed to you”
– Hannah, 2nd yr UG
Underused functionality
People use this kind of functionality but not on library search
Sign-in
“You’re usually signed in because you have to be signed in to perform a search – don’t you? I don’t know, maybe you don’t.”
– Lenart, 3rd yr UG
“I can’t remember what I do to sign in”
– Hannah, 2nd yr UG
“I always forget to sign in”
– Tom, 1st yr UG
Prototype design
Usability testing
Utopian design
What did we learn?
What did we learn?
Keep it simple
Imagery matters
Most used functionality → prime position
Underused functionality → hidden or removed
Don’t always replicate existing systems
Get it right for the novice = get it right for the researcher
Questions?