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Traveling Through Hyperspace: They don�t boldly go where no one has
gone before.

Tracy Halgren
New Mexico State University

Wednesday, April 26th
7:00 - 9:00pm
Claris Corporation
Santa Clara, CA

Abstract:

Hypertext is becoming a pervasive navigation technique for information
browsing and retrieval. Hypertext has found an application in a wide
range of environments including educational software to capture
student�s attention and create exciting learning environments, on the
Internet as a way to browse the vast network, in on-line help systems
and many others.  However, this innovative technology is not without
its problems.  I will talk about a series of exploratory studies I
conducted to determine the types of difficulties hypertext users face. 
Among these difficulties it was observed, in the first study,  that
hypertext users did not adequately access available information on
specified topics.  However, one user, which attended to the on-line
tutorial, found significantly more information than any other user.  It
was hypothesized that , if given training on the system, users would
find significantly more material than those with no training.  In the
second study, I designed five training conditions to test this
hypothesis.  Results from 40 subjects indicated that the type of
training did not affect subjects� ability to access information.
Subjects on average accessed only 66% of all pertinent information
contained in the hypertext program.  However, some training conditions
resulted in faster access of relevant information & enhanced
performance on a test of system functionality.  The results of these
studies raise questions regarding the effectiveness of hypertext.  

Biography

Tracy Halgren is a Ph.D. graduate student at New Mexico State
University in Experimental Psychology with an emphasis on
Human-Computer Interaction.  Tracy is currently working on her Master�s
degree entitled:  Lost in Hyperspace: More than just a navigational
problem.  Tracy received her B.A. in Psychology from Gustavus Adolphus
College in St. Pete,r Minnesota.  

Over the past summer she interned at SunSoft, a division of Sun
Microsystems in their Usability Lab.  There she was responsible for
carrying out usability studies (software & hardware), conducting
analyses, and writing reports.  Tracy is currently working as an intern
at Claris Corporation, a division of Apple Computer, Inc.  There, Tracy
is one of two usability professional responsible for conducting
usability studies, field studies, heuristic evaluations, and focus
groups.   In August, Tracy plans to return to New Mexico State
University to finish her Master�s work and continue on in the Doctoral
program.

Directions:
 
Traveling South on 101 
� Exit Great America Parkway/Bowers exit.
� If travelling south, take a left on to Great America Parkway over
101.
� Take a left at Bunker Hill Ln.
� Claris is the Wedged shaped building on the right at the corner of
Patrick Henry and Bunker Hill.
� Enter the building on Patrick Henry Drive.

Traveling North on 101 
� Exit at Great America Parkway/Bowers turn off.
� Take a left at Bunker Hill Ln.
� Claris is the Wedged shaped building on the right at the corner of
Patrick Henry and Bunker Hill.
� Enter the building on Patrick Henry Drive.

Claris Corporation
5201 Patrick Henry Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95052
(408) 987-700