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: The student commented that she would just go to BPL or call over to BPL with the ISSN to see if they have it. She looked at the page and asked, interlibrary loan?, clicking on this 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 "interlibrary loan" link.

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

Successful__X___                     Unsuccessful______

Observer's comment: The student started by clicking on the "research by subject" link. She scrolled through this page and clicked on health care management, she went back, commenting that she did not know how to do this. She clicked on eJournals A-Z and then on indexes and databases, she navigated to JSTOR and did a search for health and benefits and chocolate, finding many articles.

Number of Links: 6

Observer's comment about underlying question of: Do students use the "find articles link" to find articles? This student seemed to prefer the "research by subject link." She did mention that she is used to indexes and databases. As far as "find articles goes", she felt like this link should take her to articles rather than a list of databases. She mentioned that she never reads the annotations that correspond to the links on the top page.

Note: When on the research guides page, the student looked at the subject, "health and medicine" (not linked) twice, but did not seem to know that she needed to click on the "e" to get into the eResources page for this topic. Health care management was linked, so the student used this less appropriate option instead.

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

Student's response: The student said that when she is in PsychInfo or JSTOR she feels like she goes in circles between the catalog and online. She would like it if we could make it more clear if we have something or not. She would also like all of our holdings information to be in one spot rather than having to "check multiple places."

Q5: What is your status at BU?

Student's response:

Undergraduate __X__     Graduate ____    Faculty ____     Staff ____    Other ____