theneedforafriendlyuserinterfacetoaccesstheonlinecatalog: a comparative study between two opac...
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
1/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
The Need for A Friendly User Interface To Access the Online Catalog:
A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces;
University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface & Carnegie Mellon University
OPAC Interface
Essam Mansour
Dr. Essam Mansour*
The Department of Library and Information Science (DLIS)
Faculty of Arts, South Valley University (SVU), Qena, Egypt
.
.
*Ph. D (University of Pittsburgh)
Master (University of Wisconsin), USA
BA (Cairo University).
1
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected] -
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
2/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
Introduction
There is no doubt that the world has witnessed a great revolution in
information technology in the last 20 years. And this has required a respectful
understanding for end-user needs and behavior, as they are considered the real
aim of creating and developing this technology. The program designers,
developers, and vendors feel a great responsibility towards these users who are
using their products (programs). In other words, software developers need to
expand their focus beyond functional requirements to include the behavioral
needs of end-users. What users really want from these people is not only that
they build applications that meet users needs for information, but also that
they make these applications easy to use and friendly. So, the problem is how
to make applications usable without the need to read complicated manuals or to
receive hard and long training.
Defining the User Interface (UI):
The user interface (UI) in its simplest definition is the point of contact
between human needs and the computational, data-storage and communication
capabilities of a computing device (Frank, 1995). Dumas defined human-
computer interface as the words and symbols that people see on the computer
screen; the content and layout of displays; the procedures used to enter, store,
2
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
3/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
and display information; and the organizational structure of the interface as a
whole (1988, p. 68.)
Understanding the User:
(Who is, what he/she expects, )
It is important to understand the user and his/her needs of information
and what he/she can expect the library to offer. If the users are not familiar
with the use of an automated library system, the library should make some
training available to help them learn to understand and deal with the system.
Hackos and Redish (1998) stated that we greatly need to study users because
the more we know about them, the better we can design for them. The users are
people with likes and dislikes, habits and skills, education and training that
they bring into practice whenever they use any computer system. Any
automated catalogue system should put into consideration who the user is, how
he/she thinks about the machine and the OPAC, what he/she waits expects
from them, and what he/she needs to be adapted to deal with the OPAC
interface. The Library should convey all desires of the users to the program
designers and vendors so that they can consider and respect them when
creating the OPAC interface.
3
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
4/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
The Goal of the Graphical User Interface:
The primary goal of interface design as Lynch (1994) indicated, is to
create and support an appropriate and coherent mental modal of the operations
and organization of the computer system. Graphical user interfaces incorporate
visual and functional metaphors to help orient the computer user to the
possibilities and functions of the computer system.
Why is Interface Design is Important?
Ambler (1998) answered this question by stating the following several
reasons:
First of all the more intuitive the user interface, the easier it is to use, and the
easier it is to use, the cheaper it is.
The better the user interface, the easier it is to train people to use it, reducing
training costs.
The better the user interface, the less help people will need to use it, reducing
support costs.
The better the user interface the more users will like to use it, increasing their
satisfaction with the work that is done.
4
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
5/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
Designing the User Interface
According to John and Lorne (1998), designing the user interface
involves designing two languages that differ in the way communications
between user and computer are expressed. The two languages are commonly
referred to as the action language and the presentation language. The action
language, expressed by the user, is used to tell the computer which operations
to perform on the objects in the application. The presentation language is used
by the computer to ask about the objects and operations requested and to
provide the resulting information. Both languages allow communication about
a common task domain. Hildreth (1995) tried to articulate the principles and
goals, which should guide the design and development of the online catalog
interface. These two principles are:
The online catalog system should never permit a user's search attempt to fail
to retrieve one or more bibliographic records for review and action. Many
searches in existing online catalogs fail to retrieve even a single record, and
most online catalogs offer little or no assistance to the searcher when this
result occurs. The assumption behind this principle is that something in a
heterogeneous online catalog database might satisfy the request to some
degree, or serve, even in its rejection by the user, to supply useful
information that can be used to further the search.
5
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
6/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
It should be never assumed the display of a bibliographic record is the end of
a search, merely to be selected or rejected, then "set aside." Bibliographic
records are for use, not just as location devices, but also as information-
laden devices for furthering the search. This action role of bibliographic
displays is often overlooked in system design. Bibliographic records can be
generative; they may have a springboard effect in the search process, or
serve as information seeds to fertilize subsequent searching.
Review of the Literature
In a study of what screens should look like and making effective OPAC
screens, Shires and Olszak (1992) display the most basic principles and present
these with rationale and practical checklists. They discussed the physical
screens and general principles; menus, commands, inquiry screens, and
messages. Crawford (1992) presents principles for the design of OPAC
displays accompanied with checklists. Also, Matthews (1987) presents detailed
guidelines for the design of OPAC screens, including bibliographic displays.
Hildreth (1995) tried to investigate user-interface features of about ten OPAC
systems using also checklist methodology. He focused mainly on the role of
the Graphic User Interface and asked What Do GUIs Bring to OPACs? He
6
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
7/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
answered this question by stating the features of GUI like Hot buttons for
activating functions, Sizeable, moveable windows,etc.
Research Question
The research question for this paper is:
To what extent does the design of the graphic user interface (GUI)
increase/decrease the use of the online public access catalog (OPAC) in the
academic library?
Research Methodology
Data were collected from two universities (University of Pittsburgh &
Carnegie Mellon University) having two different and variant OPAC
interfaces. A questionnaire was distributed to 20 students taking classes at both
Pitt University & CMU universities, and of course, using their OPAC
interfaces. I got 11 answers from these 20 students..! The 11 students
answering the questionnaire were six at Masters level, and five at Ph. D level.
There were five students have a native language of English (3 Ph. D and 2
MA), the nature language of two of them is Spanish (Ph. D). One of them has
the Arabic as the native language (MA). One of them has Turkish as the native
language (Ph. D). Two of them have French as the native language. These
students are made up of 10 men and one woman (this selection is not on
7
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
8/21
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
9/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
All that the user has do to get a translated interface to his/her language
is that he/she copies the URL for the web page that he/she wants translated,
and then pastes into the box of translation of this program.
Translate Now!
Translate a Web page, enter or paste the URL.
To translate text, type it or paste it.
But, what I noticed here in this program that it deals only with languages that
appear in Roman characters (e.g., English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
languages), and I think some languages that do not appear in Roman characters
such as the Arabic language have special programs to translate from the Roman
languages to their own language like the program: www.ajeeb.com. This is a
program created to translate from and to the Arabic language. What I also
noticed was that all translating programs could not translate the icons, because
they are considered as images, not as texts that can be possible to be translated.
So, system designers that make these icons should make them flexible for
translation as with any text in the page.
All the 11 students depend on the OPAC to meet their educational
needs for information where ten of them (90%) use both OPAC interfaces.All
9
http://www.ajeeb.com/http://www.ajeeb.com/ -
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
10/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
the students using the OPAC at both Pitt and CMU feel great comfort when
using the CMU OPAC interface. Five of these 11 students (45.45%) feel
uncomfortable when using the Pitt OPAC interface. All the 11 students (100%)
prefer to use some other databases (some of them pointed to ERIC, EBSCO
and lISA) and some search engines (Yahoo, Altavista, Hotbot, Google, and
Exie). There are some reasons for that such as:
These tools (search engines and databases) display a lot of relevant results
that can match up their queries.
They have a lot of similar pages that can give more help, options, and
support to their search.
They are more organized.
They have more than one media (like video and audio) helping display
information in more than one attractive way.
Some ways/tools such as search engines allow the user to use natural
language and avoid the ghost of Controlled Vocabulary and the Library
of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) or of Sears Subject Heading
(SSH) and their rules that need carefully to be understood.
Nine of these 11 students (81%) asked for some improvement in both
OPAC interfaces especially in the Pitt OPAC. These improvements were
suggested:
10
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
11/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
More screen help. For each function, the user can ask for help; not general
help as in Pitt.
Some translating programs to help translate the interface commands and
Some helping programs like talking and video programs, and chat programs
that help the user ask and get the answer directly and clearly at the
time of searching.
Here is why the most students (90%) prefer to use the CMU OPAC
interface; and why they do not prefer to use the Pitt OPAC. This is based on
the checking of each OPAC interface of each university separately then making
comparison between the two.
The OPAC interface of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is available at:
http://webcat.library.cmu.edu/, and the OPAC interface of PittsburghUniversity is avail be at: http://pittcat.pitt.edu/.
The first important icon and command is . I think it can
answer any question regarding what to find, where to find and how to find.
If the user needs any help about something s/he does not understand or it is
difficult for him/her to know, s/he clicks right on the help button to get an
answer to his/her question. The user using the OPAC interface of CMU, can
find this command in each page s/he is in or when s/he goes forward or goes
11
http://webcat.library.cmu.edu/http://pittcat.pitt.edu/http://webcat.library.cmu.edu/http://pittcat.pitt.edu/ -
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
12/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
back; and this command helps him /her understand each function separately.
On the contrary, this command in the OPAC interface of Pitt just explains all
the page functions at one screen.
If you are using the OPAC interface of CMU, you can refine your search by
scrolling down using the mouse or by using the page down key on the
keyboard until you reach the following diagram:
Search Again
Keyword Browse Exactlibrary:
or even click left with the mouse on the icon ; this can give you
more than one option to renew or refine the search. This contrasts with going
back to the first page of the system as in the Pitt OPAC interface, and this also
surely can save time and help the user go on searching without any disorder or
even forgetting something.
If you use the CMU OPAC interface, you can move up and down easily not
only by using scroll up and scroll down, but also by using some special
commands such as the Top command: . In the Pitt OPAC interface,
only by using scroll up/down, can you move up and down.
12
http://webcat.library.cmu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/wGjqLO0hgj/25829034/49 -
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
13/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
If you are using the CMU OPAC interface, you can be helped by the Java
script graphic (scrolling status bar) to know the results of your search (how
many items you get for your search) and what you should do to get these
results in their complete bibliographic records just by clicking left on the
mouse on this icon to view.
If you use the CMU OPAC interface, you can find in each page all locations
(the main library and the other libraries that are branches to it) as in this
diagram:
library:
If you use the CMU OPAC interface, you can see the new list
of items that was added recently to the main library and at
the same time to its other branches, and how many copies of
each item and also the complete bibliographic record of it;
just click left on the mouse on
If you use the CMU OPAC interface and you need a book that is not
available in Cameo (the CMU OPAC), you can probably get it through the
PALCI Borrowing Program, which is a service that enables you to borrow
books directly from other academic libraries in Pennsylvania. You search a
13
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
14/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
combined catalog of participating libraries and request to borrow books that
are not available at CMU libraries; just click left on the mouse on
.
If you use the CMU OPAC interface, you do not worry about misspelling;
little mistakes can be corrected automatically by the system. For example,
write down (Egypt) in the search box in an incorrect spelling like Egyopt
and wait for the result. You will find the same result if you write down the
correct spelling Egypt. The CMU OPAC system does not refuse your query
just for a simple mistake. It deals with the closest hits to your query.
If you use the CMU OPAC interface, you will find a Keyword and browse
search. Thus if you want to find the term(s) you type anywhere in a single
field and in any order. The Keyword search results in a list of items that
contain the term(s) you typed. If Cameo (the CMU OPAC) cannot locate
items containing the term(s) you typed in the indexed field you specified,
Cameo automatically performs a browse search. The results of a browse
search will be a list of items beginning with or most closely matching the
term you typed. And also, there is an Exact search. You can find term(s)
precisely as you type themin that order and with an exact letter-for-letter
match, beginning with the first word you type. If Cameo cannot locate items
14
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
15/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
with the term you typed in the indexed field you specified, Cameo
automatically performs a browse search.
If you use the CMU OPAC interface, you can find a lot of indexed
search boxes that can increase or narrow and limit your search
options (library, publication
year, series, etc.) to the closest
point or area you want.
If you use the CMU OPAC interface, you can print and e-mail the
results of your research to a friend or anyone else. For example, if your search
result is 746 as indicated below, you can determine which item (1-746) you
want to print or email. Here, in this research result, the item is no. 17 of 746.
It will print/e-mail in a complete bibliographic record.
Print/Email Items
Out of746 records, print/email numbers:type of output: sort by:view of records: library:
order of call numbers:Choose onePrint item records 1. Click "Print" and then use your Web browserto print the item report.1. Enter email address
15
http://webcat.library.cmu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/O5UB8KgR2r/25829034/60/30777 -
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
16/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
Future Interface
Recent inventions and current research indicate that the
development of the next generation of interfaces will necessitate a change in
both hardware and software. I hope program designers and system vendors do
their best to create intelligent programs that are able to enable each user to be
comfortable and satisfied, to help him/her, to get answer to any request s/he
wants, and also to save his/her time.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Each library has its own system and its specific users. Each library tries
to do its best to meet the needs of its users, especially the educational needs.
The automated library system, therefore, should:
Do a lot of surveys to learn how to help the user accept and deal with the
system interface and to determine exactly the variant and different
perceptions of the users.
Explain how the system works to its users in simple rules and short sentences.
Deal with both novices and experts students on equal footing!
Not make users confused with some words/commands that have more than
one meaning or with some abbreviated words (like MeSH in the Pitt
OPAC interface; what does it mean to the user, especially the novice one?).
Organize the interface screen according to the 30Percent Rule*
16
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
17/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
Not waste space with unimportant signs or words.
Make each icon have its own function; no two icons should have the same
function, because the user does want to get lost among icons having the
same task.
_______________________________________________________________* This rule states that the interface screen should not have more than 30% of Instructions,
commands, icons, and menus to help the user to not be confused.
8. Provide the OPAC system with dictionaries helping the users to know some
difficult words and spelling.
9. Not return any query of any user using the system with no results. It
can design programs that accept any queries or match these queries to the
closest results.
10. Offer many Help screens, as they provide assistance to users to understand
the system efficiently.11. Prompt messages that help the user, especially if he/she makes errors, to
know exactly what the error is, and what he/she should do to solve it.
12. Make an interface that is more attractive and colorful than character-based
interfaces to make OPAC searching both easier and more richly interactive putting
also into consideration those who are with disabilities.
13. Find substitute solutions for displaying the library material (the
bibliographic records) in more than one language, not only in Roman characters,
17
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
18/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
because I think now the library moves towards universality. So, it should serve all
people including those in different languages and variant cultures.
The OPAC has been the most common tool for library users to satisfy
their needs for information, especially educational needs such as answers to a
class assignment or writing a paper, etc. So, it is obvious that if we give
respectful attention to creating a well-designed user interface, it will improve
user-friendliness, especially for novice users. Finally, let me finish this paper
with Crawfords statement. He said snazzy design and clever features are
pointless if they do not serve the aims of the library (1992, p. 63). The aims
of any library existed in any environment should always be dedicated to serve
its users and what they expect from it.
18
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
19/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
Reference
Carey, J. (Ed.) (1997). Human Factors in Information Systems: The
Relationship Between User Interface Design and Human Performance.
Greenwich, CN: Albex.
Cooper, A. (1995). About Face: The Essentials of User Interface
Design. Foster City, CA.: IDG Books Worldwide.
Eberts, R. E. (1995). User Interface Design. New Jersey: Prentice-
Hall.
Fernandes, T. (1995). Global Interface Design: A Guide to Designing
International User Interfaces. Boston: AP Professional.
Galitz, W. O (1993). User Interface Screen Design. Boston: QED.
Hackos, J. T., and Redish, J. C. (1998). User and Task Analysis for
Interface Design. New York: Wiley.
19
-
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
20/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
Lansdale, M. W. and Ormerod, T. C. (1994). Understanding
Interfaces: A Handbook of Human-Computer Dialogue. London: Academic
Press
Mayhew, D. J. (1992). Principles and Guidelines in Software User
Interface Design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Ambler, Scott W. (1998). User Interface Design: Tips and
Techniques. Retrieved December 5, 2000 from:
http://www.ambysoft.com/userInterfaceDesign.pdf
Crawford, Walt (1992). Starting Over: Current Issues in Online
Catalog User Interface Design. Information Technology and Libraries. 11 (1),
62-76.
Hackos, Joann T. & Redish, Janice C. (1998). User and Task
Analysais Interface Design. New York: Hohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hildreth, Charles R. (1995). The GUI OPAC: Approach with
Caution. The Public-Access Computer Systems Review 6, no. 5 (Refereed
Article). [Online]. Retrieved December 4, 2000 from:
http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v6/n5/hild6n5.html
Lynch, Patrick J. (1994). [WWW]. Visual Design for the User
Interface
Part 1: Design Fundamentals.Journal of Biocommunications, 21(1), 22-30.
20
http://www.ambysoft.com/userInterfaceDesign.pdfhttp://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v6/n5/hild6n5.htmlhttp://www.ambysoft.com/userInterfaceDesign.pdfhttp://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v6/n5/hild6n5.html -
8/3/2019 TheNeedforAFriendlyUserInterfaceToAccesstheOnlineCatalog: A Comparative Study Between Two OPAC Interfaces; University of Pittsburgh OPAC Interface &
21/21
The Need for A Friendly User Interface
Retrieved December 6, 2000 from:
http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/papers/gui1.html
Matthews, Joseph R. (1987). Suggested Guidelines for Screen
Layouts and Design of Online Catalogs. Library Trends 35, 555-70.
Olfman, Lorne & Satzinger, John W. (1998). Interface Consistency
Across End-User Applications: The Effects on Mental Models. Journal of
Management Information Systems 14 (4), 167-194.
Shires, N. Lee & Olszak, L. P. (1992). What Our Screens Should Look
Like: AN Introduction to Effective OPAC Screens. Reference Quarterly, 31,
357-369.
Thomas, R. C. (1998). Long Term Human-Computer Interaction: An
Exploratory Perspective. London: Springer-Verlag.
http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/papers/gui1.htmlhttp://ehostvgw9.epnet.com/jndetail.asp?booleanTerm=%22Journal%20of%20Management%20Information%20Systems%22&maindatab=Academic%20Search%20Elite&searchTag=JNhttp://ehostvgw9.epnet.com/jndetail.asp?booleanTerm=%22Journal%20of%20Management%20Information%20Systems%22&maindatab=Academic%20Search%20Elite&searchTag=JNhttp://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/papers/gui1.htmlhttp://ehostvgw9.epnet.com/jndetail.asp?booleanTerm=%22Journal%20of%20Management%20Information%20Systems%22&maindatab=Academic%20Search%20Elite&searchTag=JNhttp://ehostvgw9.epnet.com/jndetail.asp?booleanTerm=%22Journal%20of%20Management%20Information%20Systems%22&maindatab=Academic%20Search%20Elite&searchTag=JN