Collecting and Applying Usability Data from Distance Learners |
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| Authors: | Emily Mitchell Brandon West |
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| Institution: | 1. SUNY Oswego, New York, USAemily.mitchell@oswego.edu;3. SUNY Geneseo, New York, USA |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTGrowth of their college's off-campus and online course offerings led librarians at SUNY Oswego to run usability tests with off-campus students to compensate for a lack of responses from this population during earlier usability testing. Constraints on testing with off-campus students included lack of funding and librarian time, as well as difficulty in attracting student participation. A brief usability study that could be completed by students in the first 10 minutes of class was devised, consisting of a first click test, a survey question, and a top task analysis activity. The study was conducted with 22 students from a satellite-campus Master's in Education program. Discussion includes selecting appropriate tests, analysis of study results, and application of data for improving Website design and information literacy instruction in an academic library. |
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| Keywords: | Library websites usability testing distance learners online learners data collection assessment |
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