Support for decision making on the World Wide Web : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Information Science in Computer Science at Massey University, Turitea Campus, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2004
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Massey University
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Abstract
This research explores tool support for information retrieval and comparison of multiple pieces of information on the web. The study identifies the main goals users may have in mind when using the Internet in this way, and the necessary activities users complete to fulfill their goals. The main goals web users have are information search, entertainment and consumer to business transactions. The tasks users perform on the web to fulfill their goals include collecting, comparing, filtering and processing web information. These tasks form a decision-making cycle on the web and depending on the goal at hand, users may or may not necessarily undertake all the tasks or sub-steps in any sequential order. Industry web support tools have been analyzed to find out how effective they are in supporting a common user's activities. These tools include web browsers (Netcaptor Browser and Internet Explorer), editing tools (Notes Pilot and Edit Pad), plug-ins, research tools and window management systems. Both browsers are poor at arranging multiple windows and excellent at opening web sites. The Internet Explorer browser proved to be better than the Netcaptor browser at a number of activities including, selecting web content, copying web text and images and pasting web content into editing documents. When used with either browser. Microsoft Windows is good for arranging windows but poor in switching windows views, scrolling windows and resizing and re-positioning windows. Both editing tools are poor at re-positioning and formatting web content from an HTML environment to a text-based environment. The Notes Pilot tool is also poor in making calculations and returning to the browser. It is excellent at saving work and retrieving old files. The Edit Pad tool is successful at all other activities except re-positioning and formatting web content. It can be seen that tool support is lacking or current web-based tools support the user poorly in a number of areas. The need for an integrated web support tool has been identified. The functional and non-functional requirements have been specified, the tool designed, implemented and evaluated by users. The users were requested to complete a questionnaire and conduct a think-aloud walk-through session while completing three tasks using the integrated web support tool. The sessions were observed and results recorded. Most of the users strongly agreed with the proposition that the tool would be useful for personal or academic activities. The users recognized the tool's novelty, its efficiency, and also indicated an overall level of satisfaction. The users were less satisfied about referring back to web sites, getting the software to do exactly what they wanted and arranging the work space to meet their needs. Changes were made to the tool.
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Keywords
User interfaces (Computer systems), Human-computer interaction, World Wide Web