Static vs. Dynamic Tutorials: Applying Usability Principles to Evaluate Online Point-of-Need Instruction.

Authors

  • Benjamin Turner St. John's University
  • Caroline Fuchs St. John's University
  • Anthony Todman

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v34i4.5831

Abstract

This study had a two-fold purpose: to discover through the implementation of usability testing which mode of tutorial was more effective: screencasts containing audio/video directions (dynamic) or text-and-image tutorials (static); and to determine if online point-of-need tutorials were effective in helping undergraduate students use library resources. To this end, the authors conducted two rounds of usability tests consisting of three groups each, in which participants were asked to complete a database-searching task after viewing a text-and-image tutorial, audio/video tutorial, or no tutorial. The authors found that web usability testing was a useful tutorial-testing tool while discovering that participants learned most effectively from text-and-image tutorials, since both rounds of participants completed tasks more accurately and more quickly than those who received audio/video instruction or no instruction.

Author Biographies

Benjamin Turner, St. John's University

Associate Professor, Instructional Librarian, St. John's University Libraries

Caroline Fuchs, St. John's University

Associate Professor. Outreach Services. St. John's University Libraries.

Anthony Todman

Associate Professor. Reference Services. St. John's University Libraries.

References

Bibliography

Allen, I. Elaine, and Jeff Seaman. “Grade Change: Tracking Online Education in the United States, 2013 | The Sloan Consortium.” Sloanconsortium.org, 2013. http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/grade-change-2013.

“Babson Study: Over 7.1 Million Higher Ed Students Learning Online.” PR Newswire. January 15, 2014.

Battleson, Brenda, Austin Booth, and Jane Weintrop. “Usability Testing of an Academic Library Web Site: A Case Study.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 27, no. 3 (May 2001): 188.

Befus, Rebeca, and Katrina Byrne. “Redesigned with Them in Mind: Evaluating an Online Library Information Literacy Tutorial.” Urban Library Journal 17, no. 1 (Spring 2011): 1–26.

Betty, Paul. “Creation, Management, and Assessment of Library Screencasts: The Regis Libraries Animated Tutorials Project.” Part of a Special Issue on the Proceedings of the Thirteenth Off-Campus Library Services Conference, Part 1 48, no. 3/4 (October 2008): 295–315. doi:10.1080/01930820802289342.

Blevins, Amy, and C. W. Elton. “An Evaluation of Three Tutorial-Creating Software Programs: Camtasia, PowerPoint, and MediaSite.” Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries 6, no. 1 (March 2009): 1–7. doi:10.1080/15424060802705095.

Bowles-Terry, Melissa, Merinda Kaye Hensley, and Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe. “Best Practices for Online Video Tutorials in Academic Libraries: A Study of Student Preferences and Understanding.” Communications in Information Literacy 4, no. 1 (March 2010): 17–28.

Bury, Sophie, and Joanne Oud. “Usability Testing of an Online Information Literacy Tutorial.” Reference Services Review 33, no. 1 (January 3, 2005): 54–65. doi:10.1108/00907320510581388.

Churkovich, Marion, and Christine Oughtred. “Can an Online Tutorial Pass the Test for Library Instruction? An Evaluation and Comparison of Library Skills Instruction Methods for First Year Students at Deakin University.” Smart Searcher versus Face-to-Face Instruction 33, no. 1 (March 2002): 25–38.

Cockrell, Barbara J, and Elaine Anderson Jayne. “How Do I Find an Article? Insights from a Web Usability Study.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 28, no. 3 (May 2002): 122–32. doi:10.1016/S0099-1333(02)00279-3.

Detlor, Brian, and Vivian Lewis. “Academic Library Web Sites: Current Practice and Future Directions.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 32, no. 3 (May 2006): 251–58. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2006.02.007.

Dewald, Nancy H. “Transporting Good Library Instruction Practices into the Web Environment: An Analysis of Online Tutorials.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 25, no. 1 (January 1999): 26–31. doi:10.1016/S0099-1333(99)80172-4.

———. “Web-Based Library Instruction: What Is Good Pedagogy?” Information Technology & Libraries 18, no. 1 (March 1999): 26.

Donaldson, Kelly A. “Library Research Success: Designing an Online Tutorial to Teach Information Literacy Skills to First-Year Students.” At Seneca College in Toronto 2, no. 4 (January 2, 1999): 237–51. doi:10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00025-7.

Ergood, Alyse, Kristy Padron, and Lauri Rebar. “Making Library Screencast Tutorials: Factors and Processes.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 17, no. 2 (April 2012): 95–107. doi:10.1080/10875301.2012.725705.

Fry, Amy, and Linda Rich. “Usability Testing for E-Resource Discovery: How Students Find and Choose E-Resources Using Library Web Sites.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 37, no. 5 (September 2011): 386–401. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2011.06.003.

Jones, Richard D., and Simon Bains. “Using Macromedia Flash to Create Online Information Skills Materials at Edinburgh University Library,” December 2003. http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/248.

Kirkpatrick, Donald L. Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels. San Francisco; Emeryville, CA: Berrett-Koehler; Publishers Group West [distributor], 1994.

Krueger, Janice, Ron L Ray, and Lorrie Knight. “Applying Web Usability Techniques to Assess Student Awareness of Library Web Resources.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 30, no. 4 (July 2004): 285–93. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2004.04.002.

Krug, Steve. Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems. Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders, 2010.

Lim, Adriene. “The Readability of Information Literacy Content on Academic Library Web Sites.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 36, no. 4 (July 2010): 296–303. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2010.05.003.

Lindsay, Elizabeth Blakesley, Lara Cummings, Corey M Johnson, and B. Jane Scales. “If You Build It, Will They Learn? Assessing Online Information Literacy Tutorials.” College & Research Libraries 67, no. 5 (September 1, 2006): 429–45.

Mackey, Thomas P., and Jinwon Ho. “Exploring the Relationships between Web Usability and Students’ Perceived Learning in Web-Based Multimedia (WBMM) Tutorials.” Computers & Education 50, no. 1 (January 2008): 386–409.

Martin, Janet, Jane Birks, and Fiona Hunt. “Designing for Users: Online Information Literacy in the Middle East.” Portal: Libraries & the Academy 10, no. 1 (January 2010): 57–73.

Mestre, Lori S. “Matching Up Learning Styles with Learning Objects: What’s Effective?” Journal of Library Administration 50, no. 7/8 (December 2010): 808–29. doi:10.1080/01930826.2010.488975.

———. “Student Preference for Tutorial Design: A Usability Study.” Reference Services Review 40, no. 2 (May 2012): 258–76. doi:10.1108/00907321211228318.

Michel, Stephanie. “What Do They Really Think? Assessing Student and Faculty Perspectives of a Web-Based Tutorial to Library Research.” At Radford University 62, no. 4 (July 2001): 317–32.

Miller, Rebecca. “Dramatic Growth.” Library Journal 136, no. 17 (October 15, 2011): 32.

Nielsen, Jakob. “Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users.” Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users, March 19, 2000. http://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/.

Simon Bains, and Richard Jones. “Using Macromedia Flash to Create Online Information Skills Materials at Edinburgh University Library.” Program: Electronic Library & Information Systems 37, no. 4 (October 15, 2003): 242–50.

Thornes, Sara L.1, s.l.thornes@leeds.ac.uk. “Creating an Online Tutorial to Support Information Literacy and Academic Skills Development.” Journal of Information Literacy 6, no. 1 (June 2012): 81–95.

Tobin, Tess, and Martin Kesselman. “Evaluation of Web-Based Library Instruction Programs.” For full text: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla65/papers/102-163e.htm, 1999.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED441454.

Von Isenburg, Megan. "Undergraduate Student Use of the Physical and Virtual Library Varies according to Academic Discipline." Evidence Based Library & Information Practice 5, no. 1 (April 2010): 129.

Walter, M. “As Online Journals Advance, New Challenges Emerge.” Seybold Report On Internet Publishing 3, no. 1 (1998).

Weiner, Sharon A.1, Nancy1 Pelaez, Karen1 Chang, and John2 Weiner. “Biology and Nursing Students’ Perceptions of a Web-Based Information Literacy Tutorial.” Communications in Information Literacy 5, no. 2 (September 2011): 187–201.

Yang, Sharon Q., and Min Chou. “Promoting and Teaching Information Literacy on the Internet: Surveying the Web Sites of 264 Academic Libraries in North America.” Journal of Web Librarianship 8, no. 1 (2014): 88–104. doi:10.1080/19322909.2014.855586.

Downloads

Published

2015-12-22

How to Cite

Turner, B., Fuchs, C., & Todman, A. (2015). Static vs. Dynamic Tutorials: Applying Usability Principles to Evaluate Online Point-of-Need Instruction. Information Technology and Libraries, 34(4), 30–54. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v34i4.5831

Issue

Section

Articles