INFOSYS 190: THE WORLD WIDE WEB AS A RESEARCH TOOL
School of Info Mgmt & Systems
Univ of California, Berkeley - Fall 1997

ASSIGNMENT 4: FINAL ESSAY

This assignment consists of two questions, each of which should be completed in an essay format of about 4 pages for each question.

Question 1: Usability Evaluation of the UC Berkeley website

The development of a major website should serve the informational needs of the users for whom it is designed. As users of the University of California Berkeley site we will conduct a study of the site's effectiveness based on usability criteria from Levi and Conrad's Heuristic evaluation of a WWW prototype.

a. Intended Audience and Usage Patterns
Assume you are a particular kind of user of the site and define your user needs. (e.g., prospective undergraduate user interested in how to apply, in knowing about departmental programs for a particular major, facilities and orientation programs for new undergrads, housing, etc. Or you might be an enrolled undergrad like yourself looking for information about a particular major, or about certain types of facilities or services). Be very specific about your needs. You can develop a different user type with different usage patterns as long as the user type and use patterns fit the overall objectives and nature of the UC Berkeley site.

b. Information Needs
Choose 5 substantive questions that would be legitimate for the user you describe above. The questions should be of sufficient complexity and variety to require use of several parts of the website. (For example, what are the undergraduate admissions requirements; how do I acquire an application; what are the prerequisites to enter the College of Engineering). You do not have to write up answers to the questions, but you do have to keep track of how easy/difficult it was to find the answers/information you were seeking and discuss the results of your information searching as part of your usability criteria in section 3.

c. Usability Evaluation
Based on using the UCB website and your reading on usability, evaluate the effectiveness of the site using usability criteria developed by the evaluators of the BLS site as described by Levi and Conrad. In contrast to the evaluations written for the projects developed for Assignment 2 the emphasis on this assignment is to critique the website in terms of its usability as an information source. Therefore the criteria developed by the User Interface Experts (see page 78 of the Reader) are more appropriate.

Choose 5 criteria on which to judge the site. (for example: ease or difficulty finding desired information; quantity and quality of information; type and quality of instructions; overall organization of site; navigability, etc).

After examining the site using your information needs and questions, write a well organized essay evaluating usability on the basis of your experience. Include at the beginning of the essay a description of your user profile, a list of the questions you posed and then present your evaluation using the criteria you have developed.

Question 2: An Internet issue

The rapid and widespread development and acceptance of the Internet have generated a number of challenging questions and policy issues: use and re-use of legally protected intellectual property; pricing and availability of electronic information resources; assurance of universal access to information; protection of the right of privacy in electronic communication systems.

Choose one of the isssues listed below and write a brief (4 pages) essay that succinctly addresses the policy problem. State briefly what you see as the competing or conflicting viewpoints that currently surround the issue and develop a policy statement proposing a solution to one of the specific issues.

Your essay should include your justification for each policy recommendation, and should preferably be supported by evidence from the reading you have done to prepare for this assignment. The paper should be accompanied by a bibliography listing your reading selections, and footnotes should be used where appropriate.

  • Develop a policy for fair use of images and/or multimedia by students and faculty for instructional purposes at a university like Berkeley, keeping in mind t hat the intellectual property rights of the creators and distributors need to be taken into consideration.

  • Propose a workable policy for state or federal legislative action to insure equitable access to electronic information resources for a particular user group/constituency. Groups or constituencies might include: persons identified as economically disadvantaged; persons of a particular ethnic identity or gender; those with a physical disability.

  • Assume you have been asked to evaluate the University of California's new email policy. (See Reading List for Assignment 4). Discuss what you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the policy in terms of student rights to privacy.

  • Alternate Essay Topic: Choose an Internet issue of interest to you; read selected papers or articles on the topic; write an essay which describes the issue and offer a policy plan related to the issue. Please consult with the instructor if you are choosing a topic under this option .

Readings for Question #2:
Read a minimum of five selections appropriate to your topic of interest from the reading suggestions.

TO SUBMIT: no later than 5pm Wed. 10 Dec. in 102 South Hall, C. Nolan's mailbox.

RETURN OF PAPERS AND GRADE NOTIFICATION:

If you want your papers, assignment comments, evaluations and grades returned, you can:

|| Course Page || Reading List || Assignments || Schedule || Help Sheets ||

author: Charlotte Nolan - cnolan@sims.berkeley.edu -- with: Lucy Kuntz - lkuntz@sims.berkeley.edu
source: http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is190-2/f97/
date: Aug 15, 1997