Hypertext and learning styles

Abstract

The project was designed to provide a framework for a comprehensive user evaluation of both software packages and hypertext environments. User evaluation constituted an integral part of the design and development process. The learning packages and hypertext systems were evaluated in terms of the extent to which they provide flexibility for learners to follow their preferred learning styles. Evaluation was carried out in relation to: (1) hypertext packages; (2) learning styles and learning outcomes; and (3) system design. Two sets of learning experiments were conducted. In the first, the package related to ‘1992’ — the Single European Market—was tested with postgraduate MBA and Information Studies students, whose individual learning approaches were assessed. In the second, the package was in the field of food and wine and was tested with further education students on a catering course. Those with a holist predisposition strongly favoured the use of global features such as the map. On the other hand, serialists preferred the rapid access allowed by the index. The ‘Wine and Food’ experiment, with a smaller sample, produced no significant findings to reinforce the ‘1992’ results. However, there was an interesting positive correlation (though not statistically different) between field dependence and performance on the learning test. Cognitive styles were demonstrated to be a significant component of individual behaviour within the hypertext environment. Providing a variety of tools optimised for preferred modes of usage creates a rough equality of overall task‐related performance between those with differing cognitive styles, and allows the user to evolve an appropriate strategy for effective performance. The ‘lost in hyperspace’ phenomenon was rarely evident and may be eliminated by improved semantic content in navigational aids. Hypertext has been confirmed as a useful medium for searching, learning and recall, but must include as many alternative modes of usage as possible within the design of a particular system.

Creativity and convergence in information science research: The roles of objectivity and subjectivity, constraint, and control

“…There is evidence that such differences apply to a wide range of populations including high-achieving postgraduates (Ford, 1985(Ford, , 1995(Ford, , 1999b and postdoctoral academic researchers (Ford et al, 2002). They also affect a range of intellectual activities including online searching strategies and effectiveness (Ford, Wood, & Walsh, 1994;Wood, Ford, & Walsh, 1992), database interrogation , and hypertext navigation (Ellis, Ford, & Wood, 1993;Ellis, Ford, Wood, Clark, & Smith, 1992), as well as the learning of complex bodies of academic knowledge (Pask, 1979;1988). Ford (1999c) has also mapped such styles onto the adoption of different research approaches in information science, arguing that they may apply not only to individual researchers but to the collective development of research.…”

Explaining the performance of online sports bettors

“…Studies in the domain of information search and processing on the Web have found that individuals with a rational cognitive style perform better than those with an intuitive cognitive style (Ellis et al, 1993;Korthauer & Koubek, 1994;Leader & Klein, 1996;Palmquist & Kim, 2000). Thus:…”

“…There is, however, a stream of research that has found that analytical thinkers generally perform better than intuitive thinkers in searching for and processing information on the Web (Ellis, Ford, & Wood, 1993;Korthauer & Koubek, 1994;Leader & Klein, 1996;Palmquist & Kim, 2000). It seems reasonable to think that what has been found in the context of searching for and analysing information on the Web among individuals in general extends to the specific situation where the online information is related to gambling activities.…”

Implications of User Characteristics in Information Seeking on the World Wide Web

“…A number of studies have revealed that FI individuals, less likely to be dominated by salient cues, tend to find information more correctly and efficiently and arrive at desired goals more quickly than FDs (Ellis et al, 1993;Ford et al, 1994;Korthauer & Koubek, 1994). Studies focused on learning rather than information retrieval, however, have discovered that FD and FI individuals can learn equally well on hypermedia-based instructional systems (Fitzgerald & Semrau, 1998;Liu & Reed, 1994).…”

“…An interaction between the variety of environments that hypermedia provides and the cognitive style (FD/FI) of users is highly probable. In fact, a number of studies have shown that FI individuals generally perform better than FDs on hypermedia information systems (Ellis, Ford, & Wood, 1993;Ford et al, 1994).…”