| dc.description.abstract | This article reports on an empirical study on novices' learning and retention
with the Web-based interface to the Web of Science. The aim was to evaluate
the performance of novice searchers in initially learning to use the search
interface and in later use. Their performance in both sessions was measured
in terms of time taken to perform tasks, search terms used, success of the
tasks performed and error rates. At the end of each session, novices' subjective
satisfaction with the interface was also measured. The results showed
that novices' performance was better in the learning session. Their performance
in the retention session declined significantly in terms of success score
as they forgot the interface functionalities from one search session to
another. Novices' subjective satisfaction with the interface was also higher
in their learning session. Their satisfaction rating with the interface
declined sharply in the retention session. The Web of Science interface
suffers from usability problems which made its functionalities difficult to
learn and remember for naive searchers. | en_US |
