A user-centred evaluation framework for the Sealife semantic web browsers.
BACKGROUND
Semantically-enriched browsing has enhanced the browsing experience by providing contextualized dynamically generated Web content, and quicker access to searched-for information. However, adoption of Semantic Web technologies is limited and user perception from the non-IT domain sceptical. Furthermore, little attention has been given to evaluating semantic browsers with real users to demonstrate the enhancements and obtain valuable feedback. The Sealife project investigates semantic browsing and its application to the life science domain. Sealife's main objective is to develop the notion of context-based information integration by extending three existing Semantic Web browsers (SWBs) to link the existing Web to the eScience infrastructure.


METHODS
This paper describes a user-centred evaluation framework that was developed to evaluate the Sealife SWBs that elicited feedback on users' perceptions on ease of use and information findability. Three sources of data: i) web server logs; ii) user questionnaires; and iii) semi-structured interviews were analysed and comparisons made between each browser and a control system.


RESULTS
It was found that the evaluation framework used successfully elicited users' perceptions of the three distinct SWBs. The results indicate that the browser with the most mature and polished interface was rated higher for usability, and semantic links were used by the users of all three browsers.


CONCLUSIONS
Confirmation or contradiction of our original hypotheses with relation to SWBs is detailed along with observations of implementation issues.
City eHealth Research Centre, City University, London, EC1V 0HB, UK. Helen.oliver.1@city.ac.uk
Helen
H
Oliver
Gayo
G
Diallo
Ed
E
de Quincey
Dimitra
D
Alexopoulou
Bianca
B
Habermann
Patty
P
Kostkova
Michael
M
Schroeder
Simon
S
Jupp
Khaled
K
Khelif
Robert
R
Stevens
Gawesh
G
Jawaheer
Gemma
G
Madle
D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D020407:Internet; D012660:Semantics; D014584:User-Computer Interface