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A Descriptive Study Of The Functional Components Of Browsing., Barbara H. Kwasnik

Barbara H. Kwasnik

The paper describes a descriptive study of the functional components of browsing, which is viewed as the strategic and adaptive technique that people use to search, scan, navigate through, skim, sample, and explore information systems. Data on browsing is collected from thirty participants -- ten each in three browsing formats: print, command-driven computer version, and hypertext window-environment version. Data collection is by means of several techniques: the collection of thinking-out-loud, task-concurrent protocols; open-question interviews during the task; observation; and video and sound recording. The aim of analysis is to describe functions of browsing such as: orientation, place-marking, transition, comparison, identification, …