Spinning the Right Path: Investigating the Effectiveness and Impact of Web Navigation Systems

Daniel Rep, Honours student in 1999 in the School of Computing and Mathematics, Deakin University

Dr Andrew Treloar [HREF1] <http://andrew.treloar.net/> , Manager Web and Internet Facilities, Information Technology Services [HREF2] <http://www.its.monash.edu.au/> , PO Box 28C, Monash University [HREF3] <http://www.monash.edu.au/> , Victoria, 3800. Andrew.Treloar@its.monash.edu.au

Note on authorship: This paper is based on work done by Daniel Rep during his honours year. Andrew Treloar was his supervisor. The basic research was done by Daniel under Andrew's direction and guidance. The shape of this paper and some additional explanatory material derive from work by Andrew. Like all the best supervisor/student relationships, it should be viewed as a joint effort.

Keywords

Usability, HCI, Navigation.

Abstract

This paper examines the effect the various types of Web site navigation systems have on Web users today and their preferences towards them. More specifically, it considers whether there are any differences between the five systems tested and whether users prefer one system over another. An experiment was developed, testing 25 university students for their ability to answer online questions using the different navigation systems and gaining their responses towards the systems via paper based questionnaires. The experiment results suggest that there are major differences in the time subjects took to answer the online questions using the various systems and from their responses, they have a preference for one system over another.