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Dissertation Information for Richard William Kopak

NAME:
- Richard William Kopak
- (Alias) Richard Kopak

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Toronto (Canada) (2000)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Edie Rasmussen

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: A taxonomy of link types for use in hypertext

Abstract: This study develops a taxonomy of link types for the purpose of assisting users in the navigation of hypertext. Links imply a relationship between two nodes of information, and it is posited that link types are a useful way of indicating these relationships. Labeled link types can thus provide users with information that will help them to make decisions about which links to follow, and can provide a criterion that will cue users to the intended purpose of information in the target node.

A composite list of link types was developed from existing studies that employed link typologies. Twenty-seven research participants were asked to rank the link types in the composite list on the basis of perceived usefulness. They were also asked to sort the link types into groups of highly similar ones. A proximity matrix was created from the sorting data, and was analysed using hierarchical Cluster Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling. A focus group was also held, and participants asked to assess the outcomes of the Cluster and MDS analyses.

The taxonomy developed from these data contains twenty-six link types that represent a wide variety of functional relationships. Ranking data showed that participants found a number of the link types particularly useful, including: Pre-requisite, Summary, Background, Explanation, Illustration, Update, Procedure, Theory, and Purpose. Results from the Cluster and MDS analyses indicated that participants were able to discriminate between the original twenty-six link types on the basis of attribute similarity, and identified a smaller number of higher order clusters. Focus group participants generally confirmed the validity of these higher order clusters. A qualitative analysis of the focus group data revealed a number of themes, or attributes, which participants used in assessing the similarity of the various types. The MDS analysis revealed two conceptual dimensions underlying the link types that represent high order relationship attributes: General Specific, and: Antecedent - Consequent. Based on the outcomes of these analyses, a hierarchical link type taxonomy is presented, consisting of the original set of primitive link types, and a labeled set of higher order groups identified by analysis of the participant data.

MPACT Scores for Richard William Kopak

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:33:36

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Students under Richard William Kopak

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None