The Human factors of hypertext

Abstract

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. (1990) The human factors of hypertext. International Forum on Information and Documentation, 15(4), 32-38. Abstract: The present paper reviews the human factors issues pertinent to the design and use of hypertext documents. It is argued that many of the claims for the new medium are based largely on subjective impressions of its advocates rather than empirical demonstrations of its advantages. Hypertext applications are presented here as a structured subset of an information world that the user can access though an interface. Research relevant to all aspects of reading from screens is reviewed and conclusions for the development of more usable electronic documents are presented. Postscript: Many of the arguments expressed in this paper are dealt with in much more detail in the book Hypertext in Context, by C. McKnight, A. Dillon and J. Richardson. (1991) published by Cambridge University Press.