The paper focuses on the habits of China Web users' language utilization behaviors in accessing the Web. It also seeks to make a general study on the basic nature of language phenomenon with regard to digital acce...The paper focuses on the habits of China Web users' language utilization behaviors in accessing the Web. It also seeks to make a general study on the basic nature of language phenomenon with regard to digital accessing. A questionnaire survey was formulated and distributed online for these research purposes. There were 1,267 responses collected. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Chi-square testing and contingency table analyses. Results revealed the following findings. Tagging has already played an important role in Web2.0 communication for China's Web users. China users rely greatly on all kinds of taxonomies in browsing and have also an awareness of them in effective searching. These imply that the classified languages in digital environment may aid Chinese Web users in a more satisfying manner. Highly subject-specific words, especially those from authorized tools, yielded better results in searching. Chinese users have high recognition for related terms. As to the demographic aspect, there is little difference between different genders in the utilization of information retrieval languages. Age may constitute a variable element to a certain degree. Educational background has a complex effect on language utilizations in searching. These research findings characterize China Web users' behaviors in digital information accessing. They also can be potentially valuable for the modeling and further refinement of digital accessing services.展开更多
Purpose:The goal of our research is to suggest specific Web metrics that are useful for evaluating and improving user navigation experience on informational websites.Design/methodology/approach:We revised metrics in a...Purpose:The goal of our research is to suggest specific Web metrics that are useful for evaluating and improving user navigation experience on informational websites.Design/methodology/approach:We revised metrics in a Web forensic framework proposed in the literature and defined the metrics of footprint,track and movement.Data were obtained from user clickstreams provided by a real estate site’s administrators.There were two phases of data analysis with the first phase on navigation behavior based on user footprints and tracks,and the second phase on navigational transition patterns based on user movements.Findings:Preliminary results suggest that the apartment pages were heavily-trafficked while the agent pages and related information pages were underused to a great extent.Navigation within the same category of pages was prevalent,especially when users navigated among the regional apartment listings.However,navigation of these pages was found to be inefficient.Research limitations:The suggestions for navigation design optimization provided in the paper are specific to this website,and their applicability to other online environments needs to be verified.Preference predications or personal recommendations are not made during the current stage of research.Practical implications:Our clickstream data analysis results offer a base for future research.Meanwhile,website administrators and managers can make better use of the readily available clickstream data to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of their site navigation design.Originality/value:Our empirical study is valuable to those seeking analysis metrics for evaluating and improving user navigation experience on informational websites based on clickstream data.Our attempts to analyze the log file in terms of footprint,track and movement will enrich the utilization of such trace data to engender a deeper understanding of users’within-site navigation behavior.展开更多
文摘The paper focuses on the habits of China Web users' language utilization behaviors in accessing the Web. It also seeks to make a general study on the basic nature of language phenomenon with regard to digital accessing. A questionnaire survey was formulated and distributed online for these research purposes. There were 1,267 responses collected. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Chi-square testing and contingency table analyses. Results revealed the following findings. Tagging has already played an important role in Web2.0 communication for China's Web users. China users rely greatly on all kinds of taxonomies in browsing and have also an awareness of them in effective searching. These imply that the classified languages in digital environment may aid Chinese Web users in a more satisfying manner. Highly subject-specific words, especially those from authorized tools, yielded better results in searching. Chinese users have high recognition for related terms. As to the demographic aspect, there is little difference between different genders in the utilization of information retrieval languages. Age may constitute a variable element to a certain degree. Educational background has a complex effect on language utilizations in searching. These research findings characterize China Web users' behaviors in digital information accessing. They also can be potentially valuable for the modeling and further refinement of digital accessing services.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.:71203163)the Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences of the Chinese Ministry of Education(Grant No.:12YJC870011)
文摘Purpose:The goal of our research is to suggest specific Web metrics that are useful for evaluating and improving user navigation experience on informational websites.Design/methodology/approach:We revised metrics in a Web forensic framework proposed in the literature and defined the metrics of footprint,track and movement.Data were obtained from user clickstreams provided by a real estate site’s administrators.There were two phases of data analysis with the first phase on navigation behavior based on user footprints and tracks,and the second phase on navigational transition patterns based on user movements.Findings:Preliminary results suggest that the apartment pages were heavily-trafficked while the agent pages and related information pages were underused to a great extent.Navigation within the same category of pages was prevalent,especially when users navigated among the regional apartment listings.However,navigation of these pages was found to be inefficient.Research limitations:The suggestions for navigation design optimization provided in the paper are specific to this website,and their applicability to other online environments needs to be verified.Preference predications or personal recommendations are not made during the current stage of research.Practical implications:Our clickstream data analysis results offer a base for future research.Meanwhile,website administrators and managers can make better use of the readily available clickstream data to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of their site navigation design.Originality/value:Our empirical study is valuable to those seeking analysis metrics for evaluating and improving user navigation experience on informational websites based on clickstream data.Our attempts to analyze the log file in terms of footprint,track and movement will enrich the utilization of such trace data to engender a deeper understanding of users’within-site navigation behavior.
基金国家自然科学基金(the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.60273043)安徽省教育厅自然科学研究项目(the Natural Science Research Project Department of Education of Anhui Province under Grant No.KJ2007B153) 安徽大学研究生创新计划项目(No.20072011)
