Usability testing as a tool for e-dictionary design: collocations as a case in point
Ulrich Heid, Jan Zimmermann · Proceedings of the 15th EURALEX International Congress · 2012
We report about the application of usability tests to electronic dictionaries; our examples concern the design of dictionary interfaces that allow the user to access lexicographic data about collocations. We thus first summarize options for collocation retrieval, in terms of search criteria and types of data displayed as search results. We then present usability testing methods in general, as well as their application to electronic dictionaries, and we report about two tests, one with existing e-dictionaries, the other with custom-built mockups. We interpret this work as a first step towards usability design of electronic dictionaries: we suggest that new concepts for e-dictionary interfaces could be developed by rapid prototyping and tested with users before being integrated into dictionary products.