ERIC Number: ED324004
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1989
Pages: 36
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
End-User Searching of ERIC Using Dialog-Ondisc: Menu Driven versus Command Version, with Mediated Online Searching Comparisons.
Jayatilleke, Raja
DIALOG Information Services, one of many vendors offering the ERIC database as a CD-ROM product (DIALOG OnDisc ERIC), offers end users a choice of searching using either a menu- or a command-driven mode. The menu-driven EASY MENU is intended to relieve the user from learning search commands, and is said to be easier to learn and remember. The command-driven version provides more flexibility and enables end users to avail themselves of the more complete power of the DIALOG command system. A questionnaire was given to three groups of graduate education students at the College of Staten Island after they had completed ERIC searches--18 students who used the menu mode, 11 who used the command mode, and 20 who requested online searches by an intermediary. The questionnaire recorded their experiences with the search process, the number and quality of records retrieved, and their overall satisfaction with the search. It was found that users of the menu-driven version were frustrated by the cumbersome steps involved and the amount of time required for their searches. Students in a "new" group, who had received instruction in the basics of command searching with emphasis on the proper usage of Boolean terms, registered less confusion with the search process, and spent less time searching and retrieving results from their total output. Four tables, a search request form, and a search evaluation form are appended. (48 references) (SD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A