As a value and end result of the user-centered design (UCD) process, user experience (UX) is constantly evolving alongside of the users with which it is concerned. Faculty, staff, and other professionals in higher education attempt to meet the academic, economic, and ability needs of students by conducting usability testing and other user…

Reviews current systems designed to help end-users search online databases without the assistance of an intermediary and describes a prototype system which emulates the Deco (the text storage and retrieval system used by Unilever) interface on Dialog and Data-Star. Initial trials of the prototype system are reported. (15 references) (MES)

Presents a theoretical framework for navigation in information retrieval systems and describes a prototype retrieval system that was developed to investigate navigation. The use of a visual interface in a spatial representation scheme is described, and results of a user-based evaluation of the system are reported. User questionnaires are appended.…

Since the early 1980s the evolution of computer mediated communications (CMC) systems designed to support collaborative work has been characterized by two trends. One is the proliferation of new systems to take advantage of technological changes; the second is the incorporation of functionality into highly specialized or tailored application…

Hypermedia and object oriented programming systems (OOPs) represent examples of "open" computer environments that allow the user access to parts of the code or operating system. Both systems share fundamental intellectual concepts (objects, messages, methods, classes, and inheritance), so that an understanding of hypermedia can help in…

Introduces navigation as a central concept for information retrieval and for information systems in general. The evolution of information systems is described; navigability as an aid to improve relevance is discussed; and a system under development that attempts to facilitate navigation for information retrieval is described. (31 references) (LRW)

Presents an overview of the ways in which user/system interaction in interactive information-retrieval (IR) systems has been treated in IR research and practice over the years. Describes the characteristics of a number of IR systems, as well as proposals for IR systems, in light of challenges set for by John Bennett in 1971. Contains 82…

Defines and delineates hypermedia by examining its relation to the user as a system, an interface, and an environment. Classes of computer systems are described; classes of hypermedia systems are explained; user work components are discussed, including tasks, information, and the environment; and emerging standards and future developments are…

Discusses information retrieval as an inherently interactive process utilizing a variety of information-seeking strategies on informational and meta-informational levels. An interface design for a bibliographic information retrieval system, called BRAQUE (BRowsing And QUEry), that supports user interactions in a two-level hypertext environment is…

Reports results of a study investigating effects of four user characteristics on users' mental models of information retrieval (IR) systems. Findings indicated that educational and professional status, academic background, and computer experience had significant effects in differentiating users on their factor scores. First language had a…

Discussion of communication between designers and users of information systems focuses on a review of seven participatory design techniques in terms of the communication dimensions found in the Lievrouw and Finn communication systems model. Implications for the development of more effective and appropriate design models and methods are suggested.…

Discussion of information retrieval, knowledge representation, and computer-assisted learning focuses on a study that created a computer-based system designed to observe and record users' interactions with an ideal knowledge base consisting of unrevealed subject experts, appropriate documentation, and computer files. Information accessing…

Discusses features of online public access catalogs: (1) demonstration of relationships between records; (2) provision of entry vocabularies; (3) arrangement of multiple entries on the screen; (4) provision of access points; (5) display of single records; and (6) division of catalogs into separate files or indexes. User studies and other research…

Presents an approach to developing viable image computer-human interactions (CHI) involving user metaphors for comprehending image data and methods for locating, accessing, and displaying computer images. A medical-image radiology workstation application is used as an example, and feedback and evaluation methods are discussed. (41 references) (LRW)

Describes tracking tools used by designers and users to evaluate the efficacy of hypermedia systems. Highlights include human-computer interaction research; tracking tools and user-centered design; and three examples from the Interactive Multimedia Group at Cornell University that illustrate uses of various tracking tools. (27 references) (LRW)