Effects of three hypermedia topologies on users' Navigational performance

This study examined the effects of two different hypermedia topologies (hierarchy and network) on users' navigation performance compared to a linear version of the same document. Eighteen participants were allowed 10 min to interact with as much of the document as they chose. After a 2 min rest, participants returned to the document to locate seven specific nodes. The mean times for locating specific nodes and the number of opened nodes were measured and counted and the participant's own evaluation of their performances was assessed by using a questionnaire. The results showed that participants performed significantly better with the network topology than with the hierarchical and linear topologies. Analysis of the questionnaire data confirmed these differences. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the design of hypermedia systems.