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Title:
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THE USABILITY OF METADATA SURROGATES IN SEARCH RESULT INTERFACES OF LEARNING OBJECT REPOSITORIES |
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Author(s):
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Panos Balatsoukas , Ann Obrien , Anne Morris |
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ISBN:
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978-972-8924-62-1 |
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Editors:
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Hans Weghorn and Ajith P. Abraham |
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Year:
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2008 |
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Edition:
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Single |
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Keywords:
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Interface design, E-learning, Metadata, Information retrieval. |
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Type:
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Full Paper |
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First Page:
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11 |
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Last Page:
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18 |
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Language:
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English |
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Cover:
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Full Contents:
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click to dowload 
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Paper Abstract:
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This paper reports the findings of a test that investigated the usability of the metadata surrogates included in the search
result interface of three learning object repositories. These were: the MERLOT system; the ARIADNE Knowledge Pool;
and the JORUM repository. Metadata surrogates are representations of the full-text documents displayed to the user as a
list of retrieved results after a search has been performed in a learning object repository. By examining the metadata
surrogates users can make judgments about the relevance of the full-text document without having to access and evaluate
the document itself, thus saving considerable amount of time and effort. Eight subjects participated in the usability test.
During the test, participants were asked to complete background and satisfaction questionnaires, perform a set of tasks,
and participate in short interviews. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed using both
parametric and non-parametric statistical techniques (including ANOVA and Friedmans tests). The findings revealed
that users performed the tasks faster using the ARIADNE and MERLOT interface but they preferred the presentation of
metadata surrogates in the MERLOT interface. In particular, users liked the presentation of short and clearly structured
metadata surrogates, as well as the provision for direct access to the learning material. Finally, this paper concludes with
some recommendations for the user-centred design of metadata surrogates in search result interfaces of learning object
repositories that can have implications in other types of information systems such as e-prints, institutional repositories,
digital libraries, portals, library OPACs and WWW search engines. |
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