Users' interaction with World Wide Web resources: an exploratory study using a holistic approach

This paper presents the first part of the research on user-Web interaction: a multidimensional model, methodology, and general findings. The objectives of this study are three-fold: (1) to explore factors of user-Web interaction in finding factual information and what happens during this interaction; (2) to develop a conceptual framework for studying user-Web interaction; and (3) to apply a process-tracing method for conducting holistic user-Web studies. The proposed model consists of three components: user, interface, and the World Wide Web User-Web interaction is viewed as a communication process facilitated through an interface. A process-tracing technique has been designed to capture the processes of user-Web interactions. Twenty-four graduate students participated in this study. Prior to the interaction, each participant was given a questionnaire to report his/her computer and Web experience, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (form Y1 and form Y2) to measure affective states, and an individually administered Embedded Figure Test to measure cognitive style. Each participant used the Web to find answers to two factual questions. Both the processes (continuous screen shots) and the concurrent verbalizations of thoughts were recorded in synchronized video-audio data. The findings provided rich information on users' cognitive, affective and physical behaviors. The proposed model is used to present the findings of user behavior in connections with interfaces and the Web. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.