Can hypertext improve document usability? This research presents a case study on the formative design-evaluation of SuperBook, a hypertext browsing system aimed at enhancing the usability of conventional documents. Through a series of behavioral studies, successive versions of SuperBook were evaluated in terms of search performance and user satisfaction. Students used either conventional printed text or SuperBook to search for information in a statistics text. The best version of SuperBook enabled students to answer search questions more quickly and accurately than with the printed text. Moreover, students produced higher quality essays when using SuperBook, and their subjective ratings strongly favored the system. The findings demonstrate the superiority of SuperBook over traditional printed text, highlighting the effectiveness of hypertext in improving information access and learning. This research provides valuable insights for the design of user-friendly and effective digital learning tools.
Published in ACM Transactions on Information Systems, this paper is relevant due to the journal's focus on research related to information retrieval, human-computer interaction, and the design of information systems. The formative evaluation of SuperBook contributes to understanding how technology can enhance information access and user experience, fitting the journal's scope.