Usability testing of a metasearch interface: A case study

Abstract

This study evaluated the usability of a metasearch, or federated search, interface used by the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions. The authors conducted usability testing of the metasearch system to understand student perceptions of metasearch's usefulness and to learn if students could effectively complete research tasks using metasearch. Students determined when they had successfully completed the task. The study found that students perceived metasearch to be a useful tool but that they had low rates of success in completing some tasks. Technical limitations and interface design problems contributed to their difficulties. Students expected to be able to construct searches as they do in Internet search engines and, for example, expected results lists to have relevancy ranking and more descriptive information.