Projects
The faculty and students of the School of Library and Information Science and Information Architecture and Knowledge Management Program have worked together to complete projects for departments at Kent State University, area libraries, and other organizations.
The projects include:
Three projects for internal units at Kent State University in which web-based interfaces were evaluated and recommendations for redesign were made.
A large-scale project in which data was collected on students use of a new system for information seeking. There were 135 students in a school district in the Cleveland area participated. Video, audio, keystroke, and mouse click data were collected. In roughly one third of the cases, eye tracking data was also collected. The primary focus of the study is assessment of the interface. In addition student information-seeking behavior is studied.
Two studies on Web Credibility and various factors associated with it including aesthetics. A study by the Stanford Web Credibility Institute, found that the most often mentioned criteria for judgments of web credibility was the "design and look" of a web site. Data has been collected to extend that research.
Work with a web marketing firm in the Cleveland area to research how landing pages for e-commerce web sites contribute to or are detrimental to conversion rates.
Testing of Ohio Public Library web sites and other interfaces. Several public library systems in the state of Ohio have expressed the desire to have their web sites tested for usability. While these projects may be more "production" (as opposed to academic) oriented, there is an opportunity to develop an academic program from them, or at least, to become for familiar with methods and skills.