Research on Academic Websites

Submitted by yellowAdmin on Sat, 04/05/2008 - 20:30.

David gets credit for finding this article online: Comparative Analysis of Academic Web Sites published in Education, Summer 2001, by Mechitov, Moshkovich, Underwood, and Taylor.

The research indicates what visitors to university websites are looking for, and the main three points were:

1. Attractive web pages must be well-designed. People seek an attractive Splash Page with high-quality images and photos of the school. Well-identified links must connect from this page. Good thought-out navigation a must.

2. Must offer highly informative content and provide easy access to it.

3. Academic websites should include a variety of webpages devoted to entertainment - links to information about the campus, live pictures of campus, individual student pages... [We are Yellow dotWorks suggest including blogs such as "Days in the life of an English major," "What are graduates are doing now," etc.]

This research discusses entire university systems - but we think we can make direct correlations to individual departments, even individual faculty webpages!

Timeless and classic information.
Enjoy reading!
The YdW Team

(thanks David!)