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:

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 clicked on the "request a book or article we do not 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 navigated to the ILL page through the link in the how to box.

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  clicked on the "eJournals A-Z" link and after remarking that there isn't a subject search, performed a title search for the keywords health and chocolate. The student hit the back button and performed the same search for just chocolate. The student scrolled through the results, commenting, "that didn't work." She went back and tried an exact phrase search for chocolate. Looking through the results, she said, "same thing." She went back and clicked on the "research by subject" link and then on "health" and "health and medicine e" and then on "public health." Scrolling through this page, she remarked, "nothing is jumping out at me." She went back and back and then clicked on "eJournals A-Z" and did a title keyword search for health and chocolate. She went back and performed the same search as an exact phrase. She said that she did not know what to do now.

Number of Links: 12

Observer's comment about underlying question of: Do students use the "find articles link" to find articles? No.

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 generally only used the catalog pull down menu. She said that the catalog box is a different color and located at the top of the page, so it is easy to see.

Q5: What is your status at BU?

Student's response:

Undergraduate _X___     Graduate ____    Faculty ____     Staff ____    Other ____