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Fu, X., Cizek, T., Marchionini, G., &
Solomon, P. (2005). Annotating the Web: An Exploratory Study of Web Users
Needs for Personal Annotation Tools. In Proceedings of the 68th Annual
Meeting of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T),
Vol. 42, Charlotte, NC, October 28-November 2, 2005.
Abstract:
This exploratory study investigates the needs Web users have to make annotations
for their personal use when they view Web pages. Three forms of annotations
observed on printed documents – text selection and emphasis, association
building, and document resegmentation – are examined in the Web environment. The
study shows that text selection and association building through notes or
symbols remain the dominant forms of annotation on the Web, while structural
annotation (resegmentation) and layout annotation (change of font, color, etc.)
are also prevalent. The study also investigates users’ preferences for the tools
designed to facilitate Web annotation practices. Findings suggest that usability
is of utmost importance when developing Web annotation tools, and that under the
current technical conditions, users welcome lightweight annotation functions,
which are built into standard Web browsers.
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