ProQuest - Dissertation Abstracts

 

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SEMIOTIC VERSUS TRADITIONAL HYPERLINKS ON LEARNER SATISFACTION AND

PERFORMANCE (WORLD WIDE WEB, USER INTERFACE, LINGUISTICS, SEMIOTIC HYPERLINKS) by CHESTER S. LYSKAWA

 

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, PHD, 1998

 

Abstract: The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to test the

effectiveness of using Semiotic hyperlinks in place of Traditional

hyperlinks in a Web instructional program, and (2) to determine

whether Web learners preferred Semiotic hyperlinks over Traditional

hyperlinks. Semiotic hyperlinks combine both textual and graphical

elements, while traditional hyperlinks are all displayed using the

default HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) text only method for active

hyperlinks. The study investigated the main and interaction effects

of the two types of hyperlinks on performance and learner

satisfaction.

A factorial design was employed to examine the relationships

between variables in the two treatment conditions of Web hyperlink

format: Semiotic and Traditional. Participants were randomly assigned

to one of the two treatment groups. A total of 132 students

participated in the study. Female students numbered 106, while male

students numbered 26. Students ranged in age from 17 to 56, with a

median age of 21. The vast majority of students were between the ages

of 18 and 22. All participants were chosen from the ranks of

undergraduate students enrolled in two computer education courses at

a large state university. The educational profiles of these

participants characterize the intended audience of the Web program A

Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust

(http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/), which served as the basis for

this study.

Data from the factorial designed were analyzed using two-way

ANOVAs. Results indicated that there was no significant difference in

performance between the two treatment groups: semiotic and

traditional. However, significant difference was found for

performance in terms of level of Web experience. More advanced users

performed better. Significant differences were also found for learner

satisfaction. Learners seemed to prefer the semiotic treatment over

the traditional treatment. A significant difference was also found

for learner satisfaction in terms of level of Web experience. More

experienced users had higher satisfaction levels.