Xref: utzoo alt.hypertext:668 comp.text:7643 Path: utzoo!utgpu!cs.utexas.edu!hellgate.utah.edu!boulder!alumni.colorado.edu!fozzard From: fozzard@alumni.colorado.edu (Richard Fozzard) Newsgroups: alt.hypertext,comp.text Subject: Re: Designing Online Documentation Keywords: document design conversion hypertext online CD-ROM user preferences Message-ID: <30118@boulder.Colorado.EDU> Date: 21 Nov 90 18:41:56 GMT References: <40@s5000.RSVL.UNISYS.COM> Sender: news@boulder.Colorado.EDU Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder Lines: 78 Nntp-Posting-Host: alumni.colorado.edu In article <40@s5000.RSVL.UNISYS.COM> gray@s5000.RSVL.UNISYS.COM (Bill Gray x2128) writes: > >6.) Do users prefer online doc to paper doc? Perhaps more to the point, > do all classes of users have a preference, and is it the same? For > example, do programmers prefer paper while data entry personnel prefer > online doc? What studies exist to indicate preference by user task? > Nielsen [1] has a good review of studies done comparing paper and online or hypertext docs. What follows is a summary of that section of his book. He mentions a study by Shneiderman [2] comparing a Hyperties and a paper version of a set of historical articles. Hypertext was marginally worse than paper. Nielsen himself did a study [3] comparing online and paper versions of manuals, textbooks, and fiction. Predicatably, online manuals were liked, fiction wasn't. Marchionini [4] compared use of the electronic and paper versions of an encyclopedia. People preferred the electronic version and thought they were faster using it (actually, they were slower). Egan [5,6] compared a statistics book in hypertext and print. Both quality and speed of work were better with the hypertext. Highlighting of search terms was considered a significant reason for this. Catano [7] taught poetry using FRESS and traditional paper materials. The study was inconclusive. Nielsen and Lyngbaek [8] evaluated a document in Guide, prefering the pop-up note and in-line expansion buttons to the link (reference) buttons. That same study found 33% of users complaining that a computer was not as convenient to use as paper. Baird [9] observed use of a hypertext travel guide and found that a huge majority of unsolicited users came from the under-20 age group, while this group was a small minority of those who had access to the system. Brown [10] compared the use of a Guide-based fault-diagnosis system by tech support professionals with a paper system. The hypertext system showed a 88% correct call handling compared to 68% for paper. The hypertext improved to 92% after 6 weeks of use. Well, the vote's not all in, but it seems that things are encouraging enough that there is some merit to hypertext after all. Draw your own conclusions! rich [1] Jakob Nielsen, Hypertext and Hypermedia, Academic Press, 1990 p152-157 [2] Shneiderman, B., "Reflections on authoring, editing, and managing hypertext", in Barrett, E. (ed.), The Society of Text, MIT Press, 1989, p115-131 [3] Nielsen, J., "Online documentation and reader annotation", Proc. 1st Conf. Work with Display Units (Stockholm, Sweden 12-15 May, 1986) pp 526-529 [4] Marchionini, G., "Making the transition from print to electronic encyclopedia: Adaptation of mental models", Int J Man-Machine Studies 30, 6 (June 1989) pp 591-618 [5] Egan, DE, et al, "Aquiring information in books and Superbooks", Proc. Annual Mtg American Educ Research Assoc., (San Francisco, March 1989) [6] Egan, DE, et al, "Behavioral evaluation and analysis of a hypertext browser", Proc. ACM CHI 89 Conf Human Factors in Computing Systems, (Austin, May 1989) pp 205-210 [7] Catano, JV, "Poetry and computers: Experimenting with the communal text", Computers and the Humanities 13 (1979) pp 269-275 [8] Nielsen, J, and Lyngbaek, U, "Two field studies of hypermedia usability", in Green, C, and McAleese, R (eds.) Hypertext: Theory into Practice II, INTELLECT Press, 1990 [9] Baird, P, et al, "Cognitive aspects of constructing non-linear documents: HyperCard and Glasgow Online", Proc. Online Information 88 (London, Dec 1988) pp 207-218 [10] Brown, PJ, "Hypertext: Dreams and reality", Proc. Hypermedia / Hypertext and Object-Oriented Databases Seminar (Brunel Univ., London, Dec 1989) -- ======================================================================== Richard Fozzard "Serendipity empowers" Univ of Colorado/CIRES/NOAA R/E/FS 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303 fozzard@boulder.colorado.edu (303)497-6011 or 444-3168