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:

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:
other library catalogs

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)?

 No, he didn't navigate to the ILL page, but did identify a reasonable way to find a book or an article we don't own by going to other library catalogs.

 Student commented " If I need a book I go to the Boston Public Library, especially if I want books I wouldn't expect to find here".

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 spoke out loud saying eJournals A-Z or Find Articles and clicked on the latter. He clicked on the letter c, back, and then back again, and then clicked on Research by Subject.  Then he looked over the links, choosing Health and Medicine with e, after scrolling over Health and Medicine-e, Health Care Management and then finally Health and Medicine-e. He said out loud- "Health Care Management, Health and Medicine, Dentistry right there. Nutrition- good, Psychiatry."

"Nutrition, a lot of options. Moused over Indexing plus full text, and said "I don't know what that means." Clicked on Medline via Ovid, then the Start Ovid-- "what's this? Wow- so I have to input....

Back and back again to Nutrition. I would look for Reference Tools. Clicked on USDA Nutrient Database, and using the search box, typed in chocolate, hit enter. I don't know what's going on. I couldn't read this. Back to USDA site. Clicked on Products and Services.

Number of Links: 15

Observer's comment about underlying question of: Do students use the "find articles link" to find articles?

It was this student's first choice of a link for this question.

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

Student's response:

"Going pretty well." (meaning our work on the website).

"Make it like Needham, like Google, all, every use."

"Same things-- links and Catalog box."

"I never understood Subject Headings-- seems like the same thing..."

"I'd love to see if something is available right here, and not have to go..".

Q5: What is your status at BU?

Student's response:

Undergraduate _X___     Graduate ____    Faculty ____     Staff ____    Other ____