Website Usability

Data

Q1:  Using this printout and keeping in mind that everything on this page is linked:

(a) Please circle any of the links on this page that you have used in the past month.

(b) Can you prioritize these links in order of importance to you: 1 is the most important.

(c) In addition to the links you have followed in the past month, have you used any of the other links on this page? If yes, please highlight them.

User's comment: n/a

Observer's comment: n/a

Q2: Using the library web site, how would you get a book or article we do not own?

Successful__X___                     Unsuccessful______

Observer's comment: Student clicked on the "request a book or article we don't own link," remarked that it was not the first place she would look. The first place is services. The student mentioned that she had to look really hard to find the "request a book or article we don't own" link.
Number of links: 1

Follow-up to Q4 if unsuccessful: If students did not make it to the ILL page, the librarian should ask, "what word or phrase were you looking for, but did not find?"

Student's   response:

Observer's comment about underlying question of: Do students navigate to the ILL page and if so, how (through the how to box or the ILL link)? This student did not have any trouble finding the ILL page through the how to box, but the student mentioned that she preferred the services link.

Q3: Using the library web site, how would you find a journal article about the health benefits of chocolate?

Successful_____                     Unsuccessful___X___

Observer's comment: The student started by clicking on the "eJournals A-Z" link. She typed in health benefits of chocolate in the title screen, looked at the drop down menu, and then hit the back button. She then clicked on the "find articles" link. She scrolled through this page, clicked on the letter "h" and then went back. She clicked on "eJournals A-Z" and typed in health and chocolate into the search interface, performing the search. She commented, "it says no." She went back and clicked on the "indexes and databases" link. She scrolled through the page and remarked that she did not know where to go. She said that she usually used business source premier. She asked with the difference was between "find articles" and "eJournals A-Z."

Number of Links: 8

Observer's comment about underlying question of: Do students use the "find articles link" to find articles? This student started by using the eJournals A-Z link, but then went back and tried the "find articles" link. She remarked that she did not know what the difference was between these links. In our conversation with the student, it became clear that the student does not understand the difference between individual journals and databases like business source premier.

Q4: How would you change the library's web site to make it more useful for you?

Student's response: The student said that she usually used the website for online journals, which is already on the page. She mentioned that the text for the catalog is small, apparently not noticing the catalog search box. The student suggested putting the "research by subject" link higher up, recommending the following order for the first three links:
1. eJournals A-Z
2. Find Articles
3. Research by subject

Q5: What is your status at BU?

Student's response:

Undergraduate __X__     Graduate ____    Faculty ____     Staff ____    Other ____