S.M. Zabed Ahmed - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by S.M. Zabed Ahmed
International Information & Library Review
Library and Information Research
This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Thre... more This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Three human factors experts carried out their independent evaluation. The findings were then analysed and combined to discuss them with expert members to reach a consensus on usability issues identified. The heuristic evaluation helped to identify a number of both positive and negative aspects in the Web of Science interface. The key strength of the then current interface was its consistency in terms of conventions used, screen layouts, minimum use of colours, and use of graphics and icons.The main weakness lay in its functionality, i.e., searching, navigation, online help, etc. The results show the effectiveness of a heuristlc approach to evaluating user interfaces to online information retrieval systems.
Library Review
Purpose This paper aims to explore the use of Bostick’s (1992) Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) in a d... more Purpose This paper aims to explore the use of Bostick’s (1992) Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) in a developing country perspective to find out the level of anxiety among university students and to identify the underlying factors that contribute to this phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach A slightly modified 43-item LAS was used to collect data from 350 students at Dhaka University. For data analysis, negatively worded statements were reverse-scored so that all the statements are scored in the same direction. The statistical significance is measured using Mann–Whitney (M-W) and Kruskal–Wallis (K-W) tests. The M-W tests were conducted to examine the differences in students’ library anxiety scores in terms of their age and educational levels. The K-W tests were conducted to examine the differences in students’ ratings on LAS items in terms of their age and faculty enrolment. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on the survey data to examine the factors contributing to studen...
Business Information Review, 2013
Business Information Review, 2013
In this article the authors review the definitions of website usability from the 1990s to the pre... more In this article the authors review the definitions of website usability from the 1990s to the present day and several approaches that have been used for the evaluation of university websites. Building on this experience they have developed a survey instrument to explore student views at their own institution, the University of Dhaka. The responses from the student population are analyzed by demographics, use, and the usefulness of the website. Only a small proportion of the survey population reported always finding what they needed. From the result, five factors are considered important for achieving usability: Interactivity and functionality; Navigation, searching and interface attractiveness; Accuracy, currency and authority of information; Accessibility, understandability, learnability and operability; Efficiency and reliability. Most students are not satisfied with the Dhaka University website and essential development is needed to improve content quality and accuracy.
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2006
This thesis reports results of a research study into the usefulness of a user-centred approach fo... more This thesis reports results of a research study into the usefulness of a user-centred approach for designing information retrieval interfaces. The main objective of the research was to examine the usability of an existing Web-based IR system in order to design a user-...
The Electronic Library, Feb 13, 2009
... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one develo... more ... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one developed by Nielsen (1993). In an early heuristic evaluation, Nielsen and Molich (1990) found individual evaluators performed quite badly in finding usability problems. ...
Program Electronic Library and Information Systems, Aug 10, 2014
International Information & Library Review, 2014
Library Hi Tech News, 2013
ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ The main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducte... more ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ The main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducted in two specialized public universities in Bangladesh to assess students' electronic information resources use and their satisfaction with university subscribed resources. Design/methodology/approach ‐ A structured questionnaire was used to assess the use of and satisfaction with university subscribed electronic resources by the students. The major problems faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. In order to analyze the influence of students' demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with university subscribed resources, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out. The problems faced by the students were tested in relation to their opinion on overall satisfaction using chi-square test. Findings ‐ The survey results showed that the students are not at all satisfied with the current level of university subscribed online resources. The students identified limited access to computers and slow download speed as major problems. These problems do affect electronic resources use by students in these universities. However, the problems are mainly related to poor ICT infrastructure which may also lead to other drawbacks such as unwillingness to use the resources regularly and thus low satisfaction with such resources. Originality/value ‐ This is the first time an attempt has been made to empirically assess the use of university subscribed online information resources by the students in Bangladesh.
Performance Measurement and Metrics, 2009
Purpose–This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as... more Purpose–This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as gender and status in service quality assessment of Independent University, Bangladesh Library (IUBL), a top-ranking private university library in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach–A survey was conducted among IUBL users using modified version of SERVQUAL instrument. User responses for minimum, expected, and perceived services were calculated by gender and status. The gap scores between perceived and minimum services (adequacy gap) ...
The Electronic Library, 2009
... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one develo... more ... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one developed by Nielsen (1993). In an early heuristic evaluation, Nielsen and Molich (1990) found individual evaluators performed quite badly in finding usability problems. ...
Performance Measurement and Metrics, 2009
Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka... more Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka University Library (DUL), a premier public university library in Bangladesh, from its users' viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach–A survey was conducted among faculty, graduate and undergraduate students of DUL using a modified version of SERVQUAL. The gap differences between users' expected and perceived services were calculated. The concept of zone of tolerance was applied to see which items of service quality equal, ...
Performance Measurement and Metrics, 2008
We report on a series of experiments designed to compare usability testing methods in a novel inf... more We report on a series of experiments designed to compare usability testing methods in a novel information retrieval interface. The purpose of this ongoing work is to investigate the problems people encounter while performing information retrieval tasks, and to assess evaluation methods by looking at the problem focus, the quality of the results and the cost effectiveness of each method. This ftrst communication compares expett evaluation using heuristics [15] with end user testing [24].
New Library World, 2009
This research project was funded by the Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF), Bangkok and by the Fo... more This research project was funded by the Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF), Bangkok and by the Ford Foundation and was based at the Institute of East Asian Studies at Thammasat University (Rangsit) in Thailand. The author is grateful to the National Research Council of Thailand ...
New Library World, 2012
"Purpose – This is the second article focusing on rural library services in Bangladesh. The ... more "Purpose – This is the second article focusing on rural library services in Bangladesh. The main aim of this paper is to empirically measure the performance and impact of rural library activities in northern districts of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – The study was carried out separately in ten rural communities with library facilities. Background data about library collections were collected. Point-of-exit interviews with library users were carried out to gather their opinion on library collections, performance and impact. Findings – The point-of-exit interview highlights the users' demographic characteristics, their library use and information needs, and their opinion on library collections, performance and impact. The constraints faced by users in using these libraries are also identified. The results show that most users are generally satisfied with the performance and impact of these libraries. Originality/value – This paper is the first attempt to measure empirically the performance and impact of rural library activities in Bangladesh. The authors expect more research on impact assessment of rural library activities in other developing countries."
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2006
This paper presents a user-centred design and evaluation methodology for ensuring the usability o... more This paper presents a user-centred design and evaluation methodology for ensuring the usability of IR interfaces. The methodology is based on sequentially performing: a competitive analysis, user task analysis, heuristic evaluation, formative evaluation and a summative comparative evaluation. These techniques are described, and their application to iteratively design a prototype IR interface, which was then evaluated, is described. After each round of testing, the prototype was modified as needed. The user-centred methodology had a major impact in improving the interface. Results from the summative comparative evaluation suggest that users’ performance improved significantly in our prototype interface compared with a similar competitive system. They were also more satisfied with the prototype design. This methodology provides a starting point for techniques that let IR researchers and practitioners design better IR interfaces that are both easy to learn to use and remember. The pape...
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2005
This paper reports on an empirical study on novices' learning and retention with the Web-based in... more This paper reports on an empirical study on novices' learning and retention with the Web-based interface to the Web of Science. The aim was to evaluate the performance of novice searchers in initially learning to use the search interface and in later use. Their performance in both sessions was measured in terms of time taken to perform tasks, search terms used, success of the tasks performed, and error rates. At the end of each session, novices' subjective satisfaction with the interface was also measured. The results showed that novices' performance was better in the learning session. Their performance in the retention session declined significantly in terms of success score as they forgot the interface functionalities from one search session to another. Novices' subjective satisfaction with the interface was also higher in their learning session. Their satisfaction rating with the interface declined sharply in the retention session. The Web of Science interface suffers from usability problems which made its functionalities difficult to learn and remember for naive searchers.
Journal of Information Science, 2004
This paper reports on an empirical study of users' performance and satisfaction with the Web of S... more This paper reports on an empirical study of users' performance and satisfaction with the Web of Science interface. Two different search groups (novice and experienced) participated in the study. They carried out seven search tasks and their performance was recorded through transaction logging and computer screen recording. Data were captured on the time taken, search terms used, success score and error rates. After completion of search tasks, they completed a questionnaire on their satisfaction with the interface. The performance data showed that overall experienced users performed better than the novice group. Differences were significant in success score and error rates between the groups. Performance differences also existed on factors such as gender and previous online search training. Experienced female searchers performed best in terms of success score and error rates whereas the novice male group performed worst. Untrained users were more successful and made fewer errors than the trained group. Participants held neither highly positive nor highly negative perceptions about the Web of Science interface. Novice searchers were significantly more satisfied with the interface than the experienced group. Participants also noted both positive and negative features in the interface. This information could be used to redesign the present Web of Science interface.
International Information & Library Review
Library and Information Research
This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Thre... more This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation with the Web of Science interface. Three human factors experts carried out their independent evaluation. The findings were then analysed and combined to discuss them with expert members to reach a consensus on usability issues identified. The heuristic evaluation helped to identify a number of both positive and negative aspects in the Web of Science interface. The key strength of the then current interface was its consistency in terms of conventions used, screen layouts, minimum use of colours, and use of graphics and icons.The main weakness lay in its functionality, i.e., searching, navigation, online help, etc. The results show the effectiveness of a heuristlc approach to evaluating user interfaces to online information retrieval systems.
Library Review
Purpose This paper aims to explore the use of Bostick’s (1992) Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) in a d... more Purpose This paper aims to explore the use of Bostick’s (1992) Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) in a developing country perspective to find out the level of anxiety among university students and to identify the underlying factors that contribute to this phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach A slightly modified 43-item LAS was used to collect data from 350 students at Dhaka University. For data analysis, negatively worded statements were reverse-scored so that all the statements are scored in the same direction. The statistical significance is measured using Mann–Whitney (M-W) and Kruskal–Wallis (K-W) tests. The M-W tests were conducted to examine the differences in students’ library anxiety scores in terms of their age and educational levels. The K-W tests were conducted to examine the differences in students’ ratings on LAS items in terms of their age and faculty enrolment. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on the survey data to examine the factors contributing to studen...
Business Information Review, 2013
Business Information Review, 2013
In this article the authors review the definitions of website usability from the 1990s to the pre... more In this article the authors review the definitions of website usability from the 1990s to the present day and several approaches that have been used for the evaluation of university websites. Building on this experience they have developed a survey instrument to explore student views at their own institution, the University of Dhaka. The responses from the student population are analyzed by demographics, use, and the usefulness of the website. Only a small proportion of the survey population reported always finding what they needed. From the result, five factors are considered important for achieving usability: Interactivity and functionality; Navigation, searching and interface attractiveness; Accuracy, currency and authority of information; Accessibility, understandability, learnability and operability; Efficiency and reliability. Most students are not satisfied with the Dhaka University website and essential development is needed to improve content quality and accuracy.
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2006
This thesis reports results of a research study into the usefulness of a user-centred approach fo... more This thesis reports results of a research study into the usefulness of a user-centred approach for designing information retrieval interfaces. The main objective of the research was to examine the usability of an existing Web-based IR system in order to design a user-...
The Electronic Library, Feb 13, 2009
... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one develo... more ... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one developed by Nielsen (1993). In an early heuristic evaluation, Nielsen and Molich (1990) found individual evaluators performed quite badly in finding usability problems. ...
Program Electronic Library and Information Systems, Aug 10, 2014
International Information & Library Review, 2014
Library Hi Tech News, 2013
ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ The main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducte... more ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ The main purpose of this paper is to describe the results of a survey conducted in two specialized public universities in Bangladesh to assess students' electronic information resources use and their satisfaction with university subscribed resources. Design/methodology/approach ‐ A structured questionnaire was used to assess the use of and satisfaction with university subscribed electronic resources by the students. The major problems faced by them in accessing online resources were also identified. In order to analyze the influence of students' demographic characteristics on overall satisfaction with university subscribed resources, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out. The problems faced by the students were tested in relation to their opinion on overall satisfaction using chi-square test. Findings ‐ The survey results showed that the students are not at all satisfied with the current level of university subscribed online resources. The students identified limited access to computers and slow download speed as major problems. These problems do affect electronic resources use by students in these universities. However, the problems are mainly related to poor ICT infrastructure which may also lead to other drawbacks such as unwillingness to use the resources regularly and thus low satisfaction with such resources. Originality/value ‐ This is the first time an attempt has been made to empirically assess the use of university subscribed online information resources by the students in Bangladesh.
Performance Measurement and Metrics, 2009
Purpose–This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as... more Purpose–This paper aims to investigate users' individual differences such as gender and status in service quality assessment of Independent University, Bangladesh Library (IUBL), a top-ranking private university library in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach–A survey was conducted among IUBL users using modified version of SERVQUAL instrument. User responses for minimum, expected, and perceived services were calculated by gender and status. The gap scores between perceived and minimum services (adequacy gap) ...
The Electronic Library, 2009
... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one develo... more ... A list of principles that has been frequently used in heuristic evaluations is the one developed by Nielsen (1993). In an early heuristic evaluation, Nielsen and Molich (1990) found individual evaluators performed quite badly in finding usability problems. ...
Performance Measurement and Metrics, 2009
Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka... more Purpose–The main aim of this paper is to report on an examination of the service quality of Dhaka University Library (DUL), a premier public university library in Bangladesh, from its users' viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach–A survey was conducted among faculty, graduate and undergraduate students of DUL using a modified version of SERVQUAL. The gap differences between users' expected and perceived services were calculated. The concept of zone of tolerance was applied to see which items of service quality equal, ...
Performance Measurement and Metrics, 2008
We report on a series of experiments designed to compare usability testing methods in a novel inf... more We report on a series of experiments designed to compare usability testing methods in a novel information retrieval interface. The purpose of this ongoing work is to investigate the problems people encounter while performing information retrieval tasks, and to assess evaluation methods by looking at the problem focus, the quality of the results and the cost effectiveness of each method. This ftrst communication compares expett evaluation using heuristics [15] with end user testing [24].
New Library World, 2009
This research project was funded by the Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF), Bangkok and by the Fo... more This research project was funded by the Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF), Bangkok and by the Ford Foundation and was based at the Institute of East Asian Studies at Thammasat University (Rangsit) in Thailand. The author is grateful to the National Research Council of Thailand ...
New Library World, 2012
"Purpose – This is the second article focusing on rural library services in Bangladesh. The ... more "Purpose – This is the second article focusing on rural library services in Bangladesh. The main aim of this paper is to empirically measure the performance and impact of rural library activities in northern districts of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – The study was carried out separately in ten rural communities with library facilities. Background data about library collections were collected. Point-of-exit interviews with library users were carried out to gather their opinion on library collections, performance and impact. Findings – The point-of-exit interview highlights the users' demographic characteristics, their library use and information needs, and their opinion on library collections, performance and impact. The constraints faced by users in using these libraries are also identified. The results show that most users are generally satisfied with the performance and impact of these libraries. Originality/value – This paper is the first attempt to measure empirically the performance and impact of rural library activities in Bangladesh. The authors expect more research on impact assessment of rural library activities in other developing countries."
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2006
This paper presents a user-centred design and evaluation methodology for ensuring the usability o... more This paper presents a user-centred design and evaluation methodology for ensuring the usability of IR interfaces. The methodology is based on sequentially performing: a competitive analysis, user task analysis, heuristic evaluation, formative evaluation and a summative comparative evaluation. These techniques are described, and their application to iteratively design a prototype IR interface, which was then evaluated, is described. After each round of testing, the prototype was modified as needed. The user-centred methodology had a major impact in improving the interface. Results from the summative comparative evaluation suggest that users’ performance improved significantly in our prototype interface compared with a similar competitive system. They were also more satisfied with the prototype design. This methodology provides a starting point for techniques that let IR researchers and practitioners design better IR interfaces that are both easy to learn to use and remember. The pape...
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2005
This paper reports on an empirical study on novices' learning and retention with the Web-based in... more This paper reports on an empirical study on novices' learning and retention with the Web-based interface to the Web of Science. The aim was to evaluate the performance of novice searchers in initially learning to use the search interface and in later use. Their performance in both sessions was measured in terms of time taken to perform tasks, search terms used, success of the tasks performed, and error rates. At the end of each session, novices' subjective satisfaction with the interface was also measured. The results showed that novices' performance was better in the learning session. Their performance in the retention session declined significantly in terms of success score as they forgot the interface functionalities from one search session to another. Novices' subjective satisfaction with the interface was also higher in their learning session. Their satisfaction rating with the interface declined sharply in the retention session. The Web of Science interface suffers from usability problems which made its functionalities difficult to learn and remember for naive searchers.
Journal of Information Science, 2004
This paper reports on an empirical study of users' performance and satisfaction with the Web of S... more This paper reports on an empirical study of users' performance and satisfaction with the Web of Science interface. Two different search groups (novice and experienced) participated in the study. They carried out seven search tasks and their performance was recorded through transaction logging and computer screen recording. Data were captured on the time taken, search terms used, success score and error rates. After completion of search tasks, they completed a questionnaire on their satisfaction with the interface. The performance data showed that overall experienced users performed better than the novice group. Differences were significant in success score and error rates between the groups. Performance differences also existed on factors such as gender and previous online search training. Experienced female searchers performed best in terms of success score and error rates whereas the novice male group performed worst. Untrained users were more successful and made fewer errors than the trained group. Participants held neither highly positive nor highly negative perceptions about the Web of Science interface. Novice searchers were significantly more satisfied with the interface than the experienced group. Participants also noted both positive and negative features in the interface. This information could be used to redesign the present Web of Science interface.