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. The study was conducted in German and in English because of the intended international target group. It was designed as a web-based survey that took approximately 10 to 20 minutes to complete. It consisted of six core elements:
The survey was distributed through multiple channels:
The vast majority of participants consisted of frequent and experienced web users:
Practically all respondents reported using online dictionaries most often on a desktop computer (56.5 percent) or a notebook / netbook (42.5 percent), whereas they are used much less frequently on devices with smaller displays, such as cellular/mobile phones or PDAs (1.0 percent). This is an interesting result, especially for lexicographers, in terms of the design of the user interface.
The majority of the respondents use online dictionaries both for private and for professional purposes (54.7 percent) or mainly for professional purposes (33.3 percent). Furthermore, online dictionaries are most often used (54.4 percent) for activities that are carried out frequently or that require active involvement (e. g. translating or writing). During activities that are carried out less frequently or that do not require active involvement (e. g. reading or browsing), online dictionaries are used substantially less frequently.
- Introduction (language selection, general survey conditions),
- Set of questions on internet usage (e. g. frequency, duration, self-assessment),
- Set of questions on the use of printed dictionaries (e. g. types of dictionaries used),
- Set of questions on the use of online dictionaries (e. g. types of dictionaries used, devices used, activities, usage occasions, user demands),
- Set of questions on demographics (e. g. sex, age, occupation),
- Conclusion (thanks, prize draw details).
The survey was distributed through multiple channels:
- "Forschung erleben" ('experience research'), an online platform for the distribution of empirical surveys run and maintained by the chairs of social psychology at the University of Mannheim,
- different mailing lists, including Linguist List, Euralex and U-Forum,
- various disseminators, e. g. lectures at educational institutions.
The vast majority of participants consisted of frequent and experienced web users:
- 78.9 percent use the internet every day,
- 76.6 percent use the internet both for private and for professional purposes,
- 76.9 percent had already used search engine operators; 82.5 percent had already used the extended search,
- 77.3 percent rated their own level of expertise regarding the internet on a scale ranging from 1 for 'very good' to 6 for 'very bad' as between 1 and 3.
Practically all respondents reported using online dictionaries most often on a desktop computer (56.5 percent) or a notebook / netbook (42.5 percent), whereas they are used much less frequently on devices with smaller displays, such as cellular/mobile phones or PDAs (1.0 percent). This is an interesting result, especially for lexicographers, in terms of the design of the user interface.
The majority of the respondents use online dictionaries both for private and for professional purposes (54.7 percent) or mainly for professional purposes (33.3 percent). Furthermore, online dictionaries are most often used (54.4 percent) for activities that are carried out frequently or that require active involvement (e. g. translating or writing). During activities that are carried out less frequently or that do not require active involvement (e. g. reading or browsing), online dictionaries are used substantially less frequently.
The occasions on which online dictionaries are used were the subject of detailed questioning. The particular occasions were divided into a receptive and a productive section, each distinguished by mother tongue and foreign language. The results indicate that online dictionaries are used more often for occasions relating to a foreign language than to the mother tongue. This can be explained by a different degree of command of the language. The only exception is the search for synonyms. The main reasons for using an online dictionary for text reception in a foreign language are problems of understanding. For text production, the main reasons for usage are problems relating to the translation, the correct use or the correct spelling of a word. All differences are highly significant.
In a further section, respondents were asked to rate ten aspects with respect to their importance regarding the use of an online dictionary:
- adaptability: the user interface is customisable,
- clarity: the general structure of the website enables you to easily find the information you need,
- links to other dictionaries: the entries also contain links to other dictionaries,
- links to the corpus: the entries also contain links to the relevant collection of texts (corpus),
- long-term accessibility: you can be certain of accessing the different articles by using the previous URL (i.e. web address) for future references,
- multimedia content: the online dictionary also contains multimedia files, e.g. visual and audio media,
- reliability of content: you can rely on the accuracy and authorship of the content,
- speed: there is hardly any delay when the pages are loaded,
- suggestions for further browsing: the entries contain links to other entries you might find interesting,
- up-to-date content: possible mistakes are corrected on a regular basis; new word entries and linguistic developments are regularly published online.
The results of the first survey raise several questions. This is where the <link>Second study starts, by tackling the following questions: What exactly do respondents think about the criteria rated as most important for a good online dictionary? Do respondents have a differentiated view on individual aspects of the criteria rated on average as unimportant? Furthermore, the purpose of the second survey is to collect empirical data about the respondents' evaluation of different visual representations (views) of the same content.