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Usability testing in libraries: methods, limitations, and implications

Jennifer Emanuel (Main Library, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA)

OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives

ISSN: 1065-075X

Publication date: 28 October 2013

Abstract

Purpose

Usability studies are a form of library evaluation that are often passed off as research. However, at its core, usability is an evaluation method, not a research method. The goal is to make an argument that usability studies can be a valid form of scholarly research if certain limitations inherent in usability studies are addressed in the research design.

Design/methodology/approach

Through evaluating literature in the social sciences, this paper makes an argument for usability as a research method if certain limitations inherent within usability testing are addressed.

Findings

Usability is not only an evaluation method, but when limitations are addressed; it can be considered an important research tool within libraries.

Originality/value

No other article in the library and information sciences literature talks about methodologies for usability. Most usability articles do not address methodologies utilized in a way that would be considered research in a broader social sciences context. This article bridges the gap from when usability is considered evaluation to when it is considered research within library science.

Keywords

  • Qualitative research
  • User-centred design
  • Research methods
  • Quantitative research
  • Usability testing
  • Web site evaluation
  • Limitations

Citation

Emanuel, J. (2013), "Usability testing in libraries: methods, limitations, and implications", OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 204-217. https://doi.org/10.1108/OCLC-02-2013-0009

Download as .RIS

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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