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The purpose of this paper is to describe the process, analysis, results, and implications of a card sorting usability study conducted during the planning stages of a web site redesign project at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The methodology was based on recommendations from usability literature. An open card sort was conducted with 14 students and one faculty member using 93 cards labeled with content from the library's web site. The subjects were asked to “think aloud” and explain their rationale for sorting the cards. The researchers used statistical analysis software to run a factor analysis on the results.

The researchers extracted 11 categories of cards that loaded together and 27 cards that did not fit a category. The categories showed evidence of clustering by shared words, format, and process or task. Cards that did not load were standalone categories, or were redundant or meaningless to the subjects.

The open card sort methodology and large number of cards resulted in cumbersome data that required specialized analysis. The qualitative data were critical to the interpretation of the quantitative data.

Libraries can use the process and analysis as a model for their own card sort usability studies. Results can be used to inform the naming of content and the creation of library web site architecture.

This study is unique in its use of the open card sort technique and factor analysis of the results. The results illustrate users' perceptions of library terminology and web site structure.

Qualitative researchers and information practitioners often investigate questions that probe the underlying mental models, nuanced perspectives, emotions and experiences of their target populations. The in-depth qualitative interview is a dominant method for such investigations and the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how incorporating hybrid card-sorting activities into interviews can enable deeper participant reflections and generate rich data sets to increase understanding.

Following a review of relevant literature, the case illustration presented is a grounded theory study into the student-researcher information experience with personal academic information management. This study uses hybrid card sorting within in-depth, semi-structured interviews, a unique adaptation that extends multi-disciplinary awareness of the benefits of card-sort exercises for qualitative research.

Emerging from diverse fields, ranging from computer science, engineering, psychology and human–computer interaction, card sorting seeks to illuminate how participants understand and organise concepts. The case illustration draws largely on methods used in interaction design and information architecture. Using either open or fixed designs, or hybrid variations, card-sort activities can make abstract concepts more tangible for participants, offering investigators a new approach to interview questions with the aid of this interactive, object-based technique.

Opening with a comprehensive review of card-sort studies, the authors present an information experience case illustration that demonstrates the rich data generated by hybrid card sorting within qualitative interviews, or interactive interviews. This is followed by discussion of the types of research questions that may benefit from this original method.

This study aims to evaluate the usability and information architecture of the digital library (DL) website of the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI).

This applied study used an exploratory mixed method, card sorting. Data were collected by interviewing, observation, usability test and card sorting. By interviewing users about problems of the DL, eight tasks were predefined and users’ problems in the path were identified. Their satisfaction of the tasks and the usability rates were measured via a questionnaire. Card sorting was done to inform on the information organization of the website elements. The study population included all users of the DL of the NLAI in two groups: ten initiator users (public users) and ten expert users (librarians). SPSS was used for analysing the usability test quantitative data. MaxQda was applied for analysing interview-driven qualitative data. Qualitative content analysis, categorization (data organization and grouping) and determining main and secondary codes were applied as well. The sort optimal application was used for analysing card sorting data in the form of similarity matrix and dendrogram. For validating qualitative findings, triangulation was used. The internal reliability of the used questionnaire amounted to a = 0.87

Regarding the assigned tasks, new initiator users by consuming 367.67 s for registering and new expert users by consuming 403 s spent the most time. Task 2 ranked first in being incomplete among 40% of initiator users and Task 3 ranked first by 30% of incompleteness. Expert users had more unsuccessful attempts. Task 5 with the mean rate of 3.35 and Task 8 with the mean rate of 2.25 were the most difficult and the easiest tasks, respectively. Some usability components were rated lower than the moderate point. Only 30% of initiator users and 10% of expert users were satisfied with the website. A total of 12 categories and 452 codes were identified as main problems of the DL. The problems related to a vague perception of concepts and labels with 90 repetitions and digital source display with six repetitions ranked as the first and the last problems in working with the DL, respectively. The sort optimal package produced the card sorting results as a matrix similarity and a dendrogram. Card sorting reflected some changes in organizing information items. Interviews after card sorting emerged some new groups to be included, such as links to other digital libraries, shared databases in the organization and frequently asked questions.

The library’s website should be designed in a manner so that it can satisfy users with different traits. As the information technologies are increasingly developing, the importance of such a design increases for better service provision and effective competition.

Drawing on a user-centred design perspective, the purpose of this paper is to (i) provide an overview of three contextual user research methods, namely, spatial walkthroughs, experience curve mapping and card sorting, (ii) exemplify their applications in different case studies and (iii) compare the methods according to their contributions for the study of users’ workplace experiences. Previous workplace studies with qualitative approaches mainly rely on methods such as interviews and observations. Although these methods provide rich data, the understanding of office users, their use situations and finding more fitting workplace designs can benefit from deeper user experience insights.

Three methods and their variants were tested in studies of user experience in flexible offices: spatial walkthroughs, experience curve mapping and card sorting. The methods were tested during workshops and interviews in four case studies with a total of 114 participants.

Spatial walkthroughs were more immersive and provided the most insights on the actual context with respect to spatial design qualities, while experience curve mapping enabled understanding the temporal aspects of the user experience and card sorting enabled exploring user experiences with respect to predetermined spatial qualities and contextual aspects.

Spatial walkthroughs, experience curve mapping and card sorting methods have not previously been applied in workplace studies. They facilitate dialogue, participation and user involvement and provide insights for making evidence-based recommendations for designing or redesigning office environments that fit users’ needs and preferences.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of branding on healthy fast food items.

A total of 20 children (age 4–6) performed one open sort and four closed card sorts about food preferences, perceived healthiness and perceived parental preferences using branded and non-branded food image cards. Descriptive statistics were calculated and major themes were identified from the verbatim transcripts.

The children chose whole fruit over branded and bagged apple slices, stating whole fruit would be tastier, healthier and more likely parent approved. When apples were sliced and bagged, perceived taste and healthiness perceptions were variable. Packaged foods were more challenging for the children to conceptualize. Presented with eight options, french fries were the favorite choice as the children did not believe fruit or vegetable side dishes should accompany a cheeseburger.

Only children’s perceptions and not actual eating behaviors were measured. It was a small sample (n=20) with limited sample diversity that would not be representative of all children.

Packaging and branding a healthy food item with a fast food logo did not increase the item’s appeal to the children. Branding healthy foods in this manner may not lead to increased consumption.

The impact of branding healthy items on very young children’s perceptions has rarely been examined. Most of the research on branded food items has focused on high calorie processed foods. Using a card sort exercise allowed children, too young to read and write, to articulate similarities, differences and motivations around food preferences.

The purpose of this paper is to advocate that qualitative research tools can replace and merge with quantitative ones, in order to simplify the task of gathering and processing information.

The study demonstrates how a qualitative technique (card sort) was successfully used to replace a quantitative tool (exploratory factor analysis) for the task of construct development, saving time, funds and sample units. All the steps in the card sort technique are described and exemplified by its application to develop two constructs in a research about newspapers internal communication management.

The constructs were tested through confirmatory factor analysis across a sample of 184 Brazilian newspapers, satisfying all fit indexes and other statistical requirements.

Although the card sort technique successfully substituted exploratory factor analysis in this research, such a procedure must be used carefully. Whenever exploratory factor analysis is feasible, it must be done. Moreover, the study reports only one case in which the substitution was successful. Therefore, the technique must be repeated to get its validation.

As the processes of gathering data are simplified, the easier it is for managers to base their decisions on research and information.

The study proves empirically the feasibility of merging qualitative and quantitative approach – a procedure that has been advocated but hardly demonstrated. Card sort can be recommended as an interesting tool for corporate communications research, at both managerial and academic levels.

The paper aims to present the results of the first two tasks of a user study looking into mental models of the bibliographic universe and especially their comparison to the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) conceptual model, which has not yet been user tested.

The paper employes a combination of techniques for eliciting mental models and consisted of three tasks, two of which, card sorting and concept mapping, are presented herein. Its participants were 30 individuals residing in the general area of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Cumulative results of concept mapping show a strong resemblance to FRBR. Card sorts did not produce conclusive results. In both tasks, participants paid special attention to the original expression, indicating that a special place for it should be considered.

The study was performed using a relatively small sample of participants living in a geographically limited space using relatively straight‐forward examples.

Some solid evidence is provided for adoption of FRBR as the conceptual basis for cataloguing.

This is the first widely published user study of FRBR, applying novel methodological approaches in the field of Library and Information Science.

In the digital library era, library websites are recognized as the extension of library services. The usability and findability of library websites are growing more and more important to patrons. No matter how these websites have been built, they should offer the capability that patrons can find their required information quickly and intuitively. The website logs keep tracks of users' factual behaviors of finding their required information. Based on the evidences, the author attempts to reconstruct the websites to promote their internal findability.

In the past, the card sorting method has generally been applied to reconstruct websites to improve their internal findability. Alternately, in this research, a first attempt is made to try to use website log data to implement website reconstruction. The website log data was cleaned and user sub‐sessions were extracted according to their respective critical time of session navigation. Each sub‐session's threshold time of target page was then calculated with different weights to determine its navigating parent pages. The different weighted parent pages were utilized to reconstruct various websites. A task‐oriented experiment of four tasks and 25 participants was conducted to measure the effects of findability between the constructed websites.

By analysis of the variance of time to complete the tasks, it is shown that the reconstructed websites have better findability performance in the time spent to complete the tasks than the current one, if focusing much more on the target pages. The result clearly explores that when the parent pages of a page are selected, whether it is a target page is the most important issue to improve website findability. The target page plays a critical role in website reconstruction. Furthermore, the traditional card sorting method is applied to the case website to reconstruct it. The findability experiment is then conducted and its time to complete the tasks is compared to those of websites that are reconstructed. The approach proposed here has better effects than card sorting.

Mining web log data to discover user behaviors on the library website, this research applies a heuristic method to analyze the data collected to reconstruct websites. Focusing on the target pages, the reconstructed websites will have better findability. Besides traditional card sorting techniques, this paper provides an alternative way to reconstruct websites such that users can find what they need more conveniently and intuitively.

The purpose of this paper is to examine food preparation practices of US older adults by assessing their conceptualization of food preparation methods and their routine use of food preparation methods and kitchen equipment.

In total, 17 community-dwelling older adults used cards with names of food preparation methods and cooking equipment items to do one open sort and three closed sorts about: food preparation method classifications; food preparation method use frequency; kitchen equipment use frequency; and essential vs non-essential kitchen equipment. Descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, and qualitative thematic analysis were performed.

Participants classified food preparation methods using multiple dimensions: ways to alter food, inputs, location, timing, and personal behavior. They used a wide range of food preparation methods and kitchen equipment items in routine cooking. The mean number of the 38 preparation methods sorted as used “often” was 16.5±5.0. In total, 15 of the 17 participants reported using more than 20 of the 40 equipment items “often.” The mean number of equipment items identified as “essential” was 21.5±9.3.

Food professionals should consider access to equipment and food preparation skills and preferences when designing products and working with consumers. Addressing gaps in human and material capital may support adoption of food preparation practices.

Food preparation method and equipment use frequency has rarely been examined from the household cook’s perspective. Using card sorts is a novel approach to examining consumer classification of an extensive list of preparation methods and kitchen equipment.

This paper aims to present the results of the second phase of a research project aiming to develop a bilingual taxonomy for the description of digital images. The objective of this second stage entailed the formal structuring of the taxonomy. It involved the choices of top‐level categories and their subcategories.

The taxonomy development process consists of several steps that are iterative in nature, and, as such, an incremental user testing needed to be carried out in order to validate and refine the taxonomy components. For the first validation phase, the card sorting technique was used. To increase the value of the testing, two different sorting exercises were performed by ten respondents, who completed feedback forms to provide comments and suggestions.

The analysis of the data provided by the card sorting exercises and the feedback forms highlighted the difficulties participants encountered using the taxonomic structure. This step was especially useful in understanding why the cards of a group were classified together. A summary of the decisions that were made following the first part of the validation process, as well as suggestions to improve the final version of the taxonomy, are also included.

The participation of the end‐users is of crucial importance in the taxonomy development. The card sorting method is generally used in domains such as psychology, cognitive science and web usability. For this project, it proved to be an invaluable source to identify difficulties encountered using the taxonomy structure and dynamically suggested ways to improve it.