One of the many ways through which the universities can communicate with students is through their website, which is considered as the face of the organization. It also represents the organization ...

Impact of University Website Usability on Satisfaction: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach:

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Information and Communication Science and Engineering of the 
Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology

Design and implementation of tour guide portal for enhancing tourism in Tanzania

This paper considers the results of the analysis of 125 websites of Russian libraries on web design and usability, which was conducted at the State Public Scientific and Technical Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Using the site rating checklist, the data from this study and similar foreign works were compared. A profile of the typical website of the academic, university and public library in terms of design, content, service and general usability was obtained.

Design and Usability of Library Websites

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse and discuss the influencing factors of user experience in university mobile libraries and the improvement path of user experience in the context of mobile learning.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted the grounded theory research method, and the sample included 28 students from five universities, with mobile libraries as the research objects and semi-structured interview as data acquisition method. A step-by-step coding analysis of the original interview materials was conducted, which comprehensively identified the main concerns and problems encountered by users of the university mobile library apps especially in the mobile learning behaviour mode, and then a theoretical model of the influencing factors of the app user experience of the university mobile library was constructed.FindingsA theoretical model of influencing factors was constructed, which determined that system quality, interaction quality, content quality, interface quality and function quality were the key elements of mobile library user experiences. Furthermore, based on the research results and user feedback obtained in the research process, the content and key points relating to the user experience can be elaborated in detail. In addition, this study was able to determine users' perspectives and their behavioural characteristics when engaging in mobile learning.Originality/valueThis study establishes a theoretical model of the factors influencing of the user experience of university mobile libraries based on mobile learning, which could provide a valuable reference for the design of other programs and strategies to promote user learning experiences of mobile library app in colleges and universities.

Research into influencing factors in user experiences of university mobile libraries based on mobile learning mode

Despite being a common, established concept in wide usage, usability tests can vary greatly in their goals, techniques, and results. A usability test that one purchases and performs for a specific software product may result in either minor user interface improvements or radical U-turns in development. Researchers have discussed such variation as a problem that concerns testing method’s scientific reliability and validity. In practice, what “kind of data” one can expect to obtain from the selected method has more importance than whether one always obtains the same data. This expectation about information content or “scope” has importance for those who select and conduct usability tests for a specific purpose. However, researchers rarely explicitly state or even discuss scope: too often they adopt the premise that, because a usability test involves users, it brings the (necessary) user-centeredness to the design (i.e., takes sociotechnical fundamentals as inherently given). We reviewed the literature on testing practices and analytical considerations and searched for the scope of a usability test that could deliberately approach the socio-technical tradition and equally develop both the system and the user organization. A case example represents a possible realization of the extended scope of usability test.

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Scope of Usability Tests in IS Development

With the rise of virtual library users and a steady increase in digital content, it is imperative that libraries build websites that provide seamless access to key resources and services. The paper aims to discuss these issues.,Usability testing is a valuable method for measuring user habits and expectations, as well as identifying problematic areas for improvement within a website.,In this paper, the authors provide an overview of user experience research carried out on the University of Toronto Scarborough Library website using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research methods and detail insights gained from subsequent data analysis.,In particular, the authors discuss methods used for task-oriented usability testing and card sorting procedures using pages from the library website. Widely applicable results from this study include key findings and lessons learned from conducting usability testing in order to improve library websites.

Lola Rudin

Papers

Testing, testing: a usability case study at University of Toronto Scarborough Library