Why haven’t we figured out search yet? Amanda Spink talks with Christina Wodtke on why searchers still can’t ask a useful question of a search engine, and how Google may be part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
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Four Modes of Seeking Information and How to Design for Them
Information-seeking behavior varies from situation to situation. Donna Maurer explores different ways in which users look for information and offers tactics for accommodating them.
Continue readingThe ABCs of the BBC: A Case Study and Checklist
Can A-Z indexes hold their own against other popular navigational elements like search and sitemaps? Helen Lippell guides us through how the BBC online, a site with over two million pages, handled their own A-Z index.
Continue readingDeveloping and Creatively Leveraging Hierarchical Metadata and Taxonomy
In content metadata and hierarchies, you will often find a goldmine of implicit and explicit data that you can leverage to creatively contextualize content. After a brief introduction on taxonomy and metadata, this article focuses on finding and utilizing such relationships in hierarchies.
Continue readingCard Sorting: A Definitive Guide
Card sorting is a simple user-centered technique for obtaining insight into the structure of a site. But is it really so simple? This definitive guide to card sorting includes detailed instructions on how to execute and analyze a sort, plus helpful hints to improve your sorts. It is the first in a series of articles about card sorting.
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