Card Sorting

Through card sorting, we are able to discover valuable information that will set in motion a plan of action to strengthen the website’s weak points and establish a structured foundation that can grow and adapt to the user's evolving needs.

Card Sort: Home Page

Test Objective

The card sort test was conducted to help evaluate the accessibility of resources and navigation of the university library website of the University of Missouri- Kansas City (UMKC).
The facilitator sought to uncover an understanding of students or random users from various backgrounds and roles expected to see content organized on the website and locate a facility/service.

Participants

The total number of individuals who attempted the card sort was 4

Of those, ALL completed and saved their sort.
All individuals had a basic understanding of English
1 of the 4 is a non-native English Speaker.

Methodology

The facilitator conducted the card sort in-person with paper cards and post-its.
As an open card sort, participants organized 31 phrases into categories that they would expect to find on a university library website. They then labeled each category.
Participants were not required to sort all the cards. The cards were also randomized for each participant.
Appendix A contains the complete list of sorted cards.

Data Collected

Task #1: Card Grouping

Top 5 Categories

The following table lists the top 5 categories, in order of strength of agreement. The categories appearing at the top were listed most frequently by participants; those appearing at the bottom, less frequently.

University
Information
Library/ Libraries
About
Archives

Table 1- Card Sorting Data from participants

Analysis of Card Grouping

The majority of participants created less than 10 categories and a minimum of 4. Although there are overlaps in categories, items vary per section. As for items per category the maximum was 10 and 3 minimum.

Observations

Participants asked about terminology for items. Listed items appearing at the top were asked most frequently by participants; those appearing at the bottom, less frequently.

Miller-Nichols Library
Equity initiative
Citation tools

Result

There was only a small commonality among participants with a greater average of 75% in the category of information. There is also a shared commonality of 100 % for the terminology for Miller-Nichols Library.

Task #2: Location of Resources

Description

Participants were asked to navigate using their categories to locate information to get to the library computer lab.

Observations

Of the items to locate the computer lab 75% of participants would select locations. The other 25% would use a search bar or use the following list of keywords to find a path to the computer lab: study room, reservations, meet with a librarian, or student connect.

Participant Comments

All participants found locating the second task difficult. A few mentioned having it as a quick access point or part of the items.

APPENDIX A – CARD LISTING

Academics
Admissions
Athletics
UMKC Connect
Search
Locations
My Account
Calendar
A-Z Index
Jobs
Invest
Library
FAQ
Today’s Hours
Research Database
Special Collections/ Archives
Interlibrary Loan
Meet with a Librarian
Study Room Reservations
Digital Exhibits
Citation Tools
Research Guides
E-Journals
Faculty Services
Equity Initiatives
University Archives
Health Science Library
Miller-Nichols Library
Law Library
Mar Sound Archives
LaBuddle Special Collection Archives

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