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DartGov: Government Documents Portal

Usability Testing Report

January 25, 2005

Charge:

Test usability of Dartmouth’s new Government Documents Portal with special attention to selection of databases, need for additional information on databases, and overall impressions of the portal page.

DartGov Portal Address: dartgov.dartmouth.edu

Methodology:

We tested four undergraduate students and one library staff person. All students worked in the library. Students break down into the following categories:

|Major |Number of Students |

|Government |2 |

|Economics |1 |

|Undecided |1 |

|1 international student, 1 non-Dartmouth student |

We used the following script.

Introduction

• We’re trying testing Government Documents Portal for ease of use.

• Testing the pages, not you.

• No wrong answers.

• Please think aloud.

Procedure

1. What is your first impression of this page?

2. What are your expectations of what this page will assist you in finding for your

research?

3. Do you expect to find full text documents, bibliographical data, or both when you run a search on this site?

4. If you did find only biographical data what would you do with that information if

you would like to access the materials you found?

5. If there was an I icon listed next to the title of the database, what would you

expect to find if you clicked on the icon?

6. Would you find additional information (the I icon) like this helpful when using the Government Documents Portal?

7. Under what sections or sections in the Digital Library would you expect to find a link to this page?

We would like you to run three searches.

Please talk to us about how you are approaching the search using the portal.

8. Find the September 11th commission report. Did you consider this search successful?

9. Find statistics on births and divorces. Did you consider this search successful?

10. Find federal information about tsunamis. Did you consider this search successful?

11. Is there any federal information they would like to find?

12. Do you have any additional comments or questions about the Government Documents portal?

Results:

1. All but one subject’s initial impression of the page was that it was like the Digital Library page and was clearly laid out.

2. All subjects were clear as to what they would expect to find if they used the portal, Government Documents.

3. Two out of five subjects only felt they would find citations/bibliographic information. One subject thought both, full text and bibliographic, one thought full text only, and one had no idea.

4. All subjects would either try document delivery or another search to find full text of a citation.

5. Three subjects knew that the I icon would direct them to information on the databases. One subject thought I stood for Internet and one for Interlibrary loan.

6. All subjects said the I icon would be helpful with the majority preferring that over a sentence explaining the database on the search page. Many indicated they would just try the search without clicking on the I but would use it if they needed to know more information.

7. Three out of the five felt they would find the Government Documents Portal under eResources under government, law, or political science. One subject thought it should be on the quick links on the main page and one subject felt it should be under Library Services-Research Tools with a new category of portals.

8. Subjects searched 9/11, 9-11, and September 11. All subjects thought search was successful. Three out of five subjects searched with the defaults. One subject selected all databases and one selected only Library Catalog, Google Government & Military websites, and Google Uncle Sam. Two of the subjects found the peach headers helpful. One subject did not see all the databases or the search button because they did not scroll down.

9. Subjects used a variety of search terms for this search. Some tried more then one search after not feeling their search was successful as the first search we did with them. Three out of the five selected the statistics databases by themselves or in combination with defaults or other databases. One subject didn’t use the statistics databases because they did not scroll down and see them at the bottom of the screen. One subject who uses Lexis/Nexis for her government studies assignments wondered why this was not listed. We explained to her that the databases were all free. She thought a link back to the Government subject folder or to list such paid databases as other resources on the page would be helpful. All subjects thought their searches were successful.

10. Only one subject used the NTIS database under Science and Technology Information when searching for tsunamis. One subject used all the databases. UN search was selected by two subjects in conjunction with other databases. Many subjects throughout the test did not use certain databases because they did not know what they were and what they might find under them. In addition, many subjects only looked at the database list and did not notice the subject headings above them. Subjects also did not always notice where their results were coming from. They were very centered on finding the information and not the source of the information.

11. Subjects said they would use or had the need in the past to find the following government documents: Statistics, Congressional Voting Records, Government documents.

12. Additional comments listed below:

JSTOR and eResources have good explanations

Prefer text explanations rather than “I”

Helpful having categories such as Catalogs, Stats, etc.

It’s fast; looks great

Normally would have gone to Catalog and Google

Other subject portals would be useful

Would like a search box more like the eResources search box

Would like more international information

Another science option?

Layout good

Terms like DartDoc, DartGov and Borrow Direct are annoying; just say what it is!

Locate this portal in an easy place to find

Tell government Profs to inform students about the portal

Didn’t scroll all the way down so missed some information

The “I” would be useful

Links back to government folder would be useful to see additional search options

Like “check all” function

Didn’t use search button because would have had to scroll down

Recommendations:

1. The majority of our subjects felt the page was clearly laid out and it was obvious as to the subject materials you would find. General concept and layout is clear.

2. Some problems did develop because subjects failed to scroll down to see the entire page and search options. Some subjects did not notice the categories. Consider rearranging the page and making the fonts smaller to display more information on the page? Shorten the title?

3. All subjects felt that the I icon would be helpful. Many asked during the testing what the different databases acronyms meant. Although we had two subjects who were not aware of what the I icon might mean, they would be willing to click it if they were not sure. Highly recommend adding the I icons.

4. Subjects were not clear as to what they would find for material types, full text or citations only. Perhaps some clarification could be added? However, most subjects would look at the library catalog and then move on to find something in full text, so it may not be a significant issue for the users.

5. Subjects approached the searches in a variety of different ways. Many subjects choose certain databases if they thought they knew what the database might contain. Some databases were not chosen because their name did not give any clue as to content. For example, subjects chose the first statistics database, FedStats, but hesitated or did not choose the second statistics database, ICPSR. Once again, a strong case for adding the I icon. Might want to consider defining the I icon as well?

6. All subjects believed their searches were successful and the government students said they would use the portal. We would recommend that consideration be given to including a link or portal area to the Research Tools. Most subjects familiar with the Digital Library expected the portal to be found in eResources.

7. At least one subject said to simplify the language and perhaps remove extraneous information from the header as well as from the subject categories.

Testing and Report Submitted by: Pat Fisken and Gloria Dufield

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