Electronic Encyclopedias for Upper Elementary School Users
1. Framing Question What accommodations should electronic encyclopedias include in order to ensure the success of information retrieval for upper elementary school students?
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14. Results – By User Need Summary of the Frequency of Five Encyclopedias’ Ability to Address Young Users’ Needs 5 0 0 Reading Ease - Word 5 0 0 Readability - Dale Chall 4 1 0 Spelling 2 3 0 Readability - Spache 0 4 1 Browsing Vocabulary Addresses Domain Knowledge Level 0 4 1 Article Outline Vocabulary 1 2 2 Keyword Vocabulary 1 1 3 Natural Language 0 2 3 Textual Relevance 0 2 3 Plural Words 0 0 5 Name Order Not Addressed Somewhat Addressed Successfully Addressed Factors
15. Results – By User Need Summary of the Frequency of Five Encyclopedias’ Ability to Address Young Users’ Needs 5 0 Web Links Embedded 3 2 Affective Behavior Considerations 3 2 Text to Speech 2 3 Organize articles 2 3 Interesting Graphics Embedded 2 3 Offers Suggested Spellings 2 3 Link Density 1 4 Web Links Available 1 4 Hyperlinks to other articles 0 5 Access to Graphics 0 5 Retrace Steps 0 5 Interesting Graphics Available 0 5 Hyperlink abstraction Not Addressed Addressed Factor
This study will examine Electronic Encyclopedias thru the eyes of Upper Elementary Student users. Many schools and homes are turning to electronic versions of resource materials like dictionaries and encyclopedia for use by their entire population, however much of the software on the market may not take into consideration the needs and abilities of younger students. This study hopes to isolate reference software that is both appropriate for students in Grades 3 thru 5 AND maximizes their information retrieval potential.
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