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Mental Models for Web Objects: Where do users expect the most frequent objects in Online Shops, News Portals, and Company Web Pages?

Roth, S. P. and Schmutz, P. and Pauwels, S. L. and Bargas-Avila, J. A. and Opwis, K.. (2010) Mental Models for Web Objects: Where do users expect the most frequent objects in Online Shops, News Portals, and Company Web Pages? Interacting with computers, Vol. 22, H. 2. pp. 140-152.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5264997

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Abstract

In interface development, it is crucial to reflect the users’ expectations and mental models. By meeting users’ expectations, errors can be prevented and the efficiency of the interaction can be enhanced. Applying these guidelines to website development reveals the need to know where users expect to find the most common web objects like the search field, home button or the navigation. In a preliminary online study with 136 participants, the most common web objects were identified for three web page types: online shops, news portals, and company web pages. These objects were used for the main study, which was conducted with 516 participants. In an online application, prototypical websites had to be constructed by the participants. Data analysis showed that Internet users have distinct mental models for different web page types (online shop, news portal, and company web page). Users generally agree about the locations of many, but not all, web objects. These mental models are robust to demographic factors like gender and web expertise. This knowledge could be used to improve the perception and usability of websites.
Faculties and Departments:07 Faculty of Psychology > Departement Psychologie > Society & Choice > Allgemeine Psychologie und Methodologie (Opwis)
07 Faculty of Psychology > Departement Psychologie > Ehemalige Einheiten Psychologie > Mensch-Maschine Interaktion (Bargas-Avila)
UniBasel Contributors:Roth, Sandra and Schmutz, Peter and Pauwels, Stefan and Bargas-Avila, Javier Andrés and Opwis, Klaus
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0953-5438
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Last Modified:22 Mar 2012 14:24
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 13:42

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