An Evaluation of the Websites of Charities and Voluntary Organisations Providing Support for Young People: Case Study: Drugscope
Journal Title: Webology - Year 2005, Vol 2, Issue 3
Abstract
This paper reports on a study examining the usage, usability and impact of a charitable Website 'Drugscope'. A range of methods were used to evaluate the site, including Inspection, examining the extent to which the site met recognised quality criteria; formal usability tests, including information retrieval tasks; an online user survey and computer log analysis. Log results showed that the site attracted around 300-400,000 page views per month, although two-thirds of all users accessed just one page before going somewhere else. Although search engines tended to take most users to pages other than the 'Home' page, it is still likely that many users did not take full advantage of the information offered on the site. Survey respondents, mainly drug workers or academics, had a variety of information needs, that were generally well served by the site. Overall, the site is very well organised for retrieving information. In order to promote best practice, the research suggests that charities need to take account more the international audience attracted by the Web, include quality indicators such as source attribution and currency stamps, and make sites more accessible to those with disabilities. Overall, however, Drugscope proved itself to be a highly effective information provider.
Authors and Affiliations
Peter Williams, Karen Dennis and David Nicholas
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP687235
- DOI -
- Views 204
- Downloads 0
The impact of information and communication technologies on book challenge trends in the United States: An analysis
The rapid growth of information and communication technologies (ICT), such as personal computing, the explosive proliferation of computing devices, and widespread availability of the Internet, has led to a sea change in...
Getting Connected: Can Social Capital be Virtual?
This article reports on an analysis of data from a study conducted in Australia on the impact of Internet access on social capital. The debate regarding the definition of social capital is explored, and basic indicator...
Social Media Application in Indonesian Academic Libraries
Nowadays, many libraries have taken advantages of social media to promote their collection as well as to enhance services and interact with their users. In this research, the use of social media by academic libraries in...
Trends in the Development of the Commercial Banking System in a Market Economy
The purpose of this work is to study current trends in the development of the banking system, study the world banking experience and its adaptation in local conditions. Economic analysis, evaluation of the second-tier ba...
American libraries and the Internet: The social construction of Web appropriation and use
One can hardly find any aspect of human life that has not been affected one way or another by the Internet. Most of the Internet’s impact is because of the changes it has brought about in the areas of communication and...