Research into Dictionary Use

There has been very little research into the use of online dictionaries. As a part of the ongoing research project "User-adaptive Access and Cross-references in elexiko", the main focus of the field "Usage Research" lies on closing this research gap. Furthermore, the results of this study are to be integrated into the online dictionary elexiko. For this purpose, several extensive empirical studies are being conducted both in the form of online surveys combining questionnaires and experimental elements and in the form of face-to-face interviews. The intended target group consists mainly of linguists, students of linguistics, translators, English teachers, EFL teachers and students. The initial research centres on online dictionaries in general, with subsequent studies focusing on monolingual dictionaries such as elexiko.
  • First Study: The first study investigated the reasons for using online dictionaries and tried to identify both the social situations in which online dictionaries are being consulted and different user demands. Almost 700 respondents participated in the bilingual survey (German / English) (more).
  • Second study: Due to the high level of response to the first study, we decided to conduct a second survey in German and English, in order to empirically examine the results more closely (more).
  • Planned studies
The results obtained from the studies shall be used to further improve the usability of elexiko. Depending on user demands, an adaptive access in relation to the lexicographic content could be developed, for example.