Age-Related Differences in Search Strategy and Performance When Using a Data-Rich Web Site

In a usability study on a portion of the Census Bureau Web site, we assess how people of different ages search for specific information by evaluating performance and strategy differences between age groups. We collected usability metrics of accuracy and efficiency, including mouse click data. Eye-tracking data were also collected including eye-movement patterns in pre-defined areas of interest. This paper focuses on the number of fixations (whether participants looked at the correct area of the screen) and number of unique visits (whether participants re-checked their answers). Results show that on the hard task only, older adults took longer to make the first click when initially starting the task, and there was a trend for younger adults to have higher accuracy. All age groups re-checked their answers suggesting that users of all ages experience difficulties when reading and comprehending complex data tables.