Using the Internet to Study Users Interacting with Web Sites in Natural Settings
Welcome to the home page of the Internet-Based Research group, a Directed Research Group led by Professor Jan Spyridakis in the Department of Technical Communication. The group has been studying how various design features of online information (e.g., Web sites) affect users' behavior, comprehension, and perceptions. The research has focused on refining a user model that accounts for how comprehension and navigational behavior interact in digital environments. Our approach also accounts for how a user's domain knowledge and demographics fit into the model.
In order to conduct our research, we have been creating WebLab UX--a toolkit that dynamically generates alternative versions of a Web site, delivers them randomly to participants through the Internet, and collects survey results as well as users' behavior with an information system. Our goal has been to study users interacting with information systems using their own computing environments at a time of their own choosing. The study of users in their own environments has proven to have high ecological and external validity and WebLab UX provides sufficient controls regarding internal validity.
If you are interested in talking with us about possibly working together to use WebLab UX to help you assess how the design of online information affects readers, users, and learners, we would be happy to meet with you. We are always seeking collaborative projects and funding to support our team and to further refine WebLab UX. Please contact Dr. Spyridakis at jansp@u.washington.edu.