Evaluation of user interface designs for information retrieval systems: a computer-based experiment

In this study, we conducted a computer-based experiment to evaluate and com pare the effectiveness of six different interface designs, graphical or lis t-based, in supporting communication of an object's "relevance" from an inf ormation retrieval (IR) system to its users. We adopted the Model Human Pro cessor to provide a necessary framework to incorporate relevant cognitive p sychology theories and user-centered design principles in the development o f different interfaces. The study had a well-researched theoretical foundat ion, complied with relevant design principles, and included a large-scale e mpirical evaluation, Our results suggest that interface design may have a s ignificant effect on system-user concept communication, regardless of users ' familiarity with the search task, and that a graphical user interface may be more effective in supporting such communication than a list-based desig n. Furthermore, we also examined the cognitive load and user satisfaction r esulting from each investigated interface design. Findings of the study hav e important implications for the design of IR systems (including online lib rary systems and Internet-based search systems) as well as for the informat ion representation and visualization of knowledge management systems, which ordinarily depend on text-based display methods to support system-user con cept communication. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.