Information scent as a driver of Web behavior graphs: results of a protocol analysis method for Web usability

• Proceedings of ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2001)

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a replicable WWW protocol analysis methodology illustrated by application to data collected in the laboratory. The methodology uses instrumentation to obtain detailed recordings of user actions with a browser, caches Web pages encoutered, and videotapes talk-aloud protocols. We apply the current form of the method to the analysis of eight Web protocols, visualizing the structure of the interaction and showing the strong effect of information scent in determining the path followed.

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citation

Card, S. K. ; Pirolli, P. L. ; Van Der Wege, M. ; Morrison, J. ; Reeder, R. W. ; Schraedley, P. K. ; Boshart, J. Information scent as a driver of Web behavior graphs: results of a protocol analysis method for Web usability. Proceedings of ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2001); 2001 March 31-April 5; Seattle, WA. NY: ACM; 2001; 498-505.