Structuring Users' Self-Report Responses to Website Designs

Abstract

A two-dimensional framework is proposed as a basis for assessing users' self-report responses to website designs. This incorporates two features that have been consistently identified in the psychology and design literatures: (a) a processing sequence and (b) a distinction between cognition and affect. Suggested advantages include increased clarity with regard to the identification of self-report constructs, stronger links to relevant literature, and improved “actionability” of designs. To examine this framework empirically, a study was conducted for which participants were required to imagine selecting a psychology university degree program and to provide a series of ratings of the designs of five department websites. The proposed framework enabled the identification of distinct and interpretable patterns of users' responses. In this regard, a number of consistencies with recent conceptualizations of user experience were noted. Implications and limitations of the proposed approach were considered.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.