Quantitative Approach Applied to User Interface of Latin American Web OPACs

Abstract

This chapter studies user interfaces of Web Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) and presents their principal difficulties in facing the man-machine interaction and the contributions of Web 2.0 to overcome these limitations. Methodologies used to study OPACs interfaces are examined. A quantitative approach is used to analyze Web OPACs in academic, special, national, and public libraries through the conclusive use of several tests: chi-square or test of independence, logistic regression, odds ratio, analysis of variance, and discriminant analysis. The situation of Latin American Web OPACs is verified in relation to the use of Integrated Library Systems (ILS) and Database Management Systems (DBMS). This methodology is proposed to study the 2.0 functionalities in these catalogs.