Mission & Supporters

• Explanation & Justification:
  As mentioned in the "About Us" section, there was a large group of labels that appeared in both this category and the "About Us" section. Dividing this group would help prevent the creation of a catchall category, which might be difficult to navigate. Category names suggested by participants, such as "Investors," "Mission," and "Partnerships," point toward a category that would include labels reflecting the organization's ongoing efforts and updated information about its mission. These could include labels like "Impact," "Industry Supporters," "Mission," "Our Patrons," and "Partners." The content for these labels is likely to be updated as the organization gains more supporters and evolves its mission.

Programs & Services

• Explanation & Justification:
  The last category was created from a grouping in the similarity matrix that related to educational and service offerings for the community. Participants suggested names like “Other services”, “Our programs”, and “Skills Training” which contained labels related to the programs and services offered by the organization. “Programs & Services” is a succinct way to group the different training programs and services together.

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

In addition to the card sorting exercise, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire to gather further insights into their categorization approach, perceptions of the labeling process, and reasoning behind the content groupings they created. The questionnaire results provided valuable qualitative data that complemented the quantitative findings from the card sort.

Key Insights from Questionnaire:

• Participant Feedback: Participant feedback is based on the post-survey responses of 21 participants, as two included participants did not complete this portion of the study, but did fully complete the card sort. The primary themes in participant feedback focused on information architecture, emphasizing the need for clearer category distinctions, consistent labels for improved clarity, participant-driven categorization strategies, and the impact of prior knowledge and expectations on categorization.
• Rationale Behind Groupings: Participant feedback indicated that they needed clearer direction when considering unique labels such as specific collections or when labels were too vague, like “gift”. Many participants expected familiar labels based on their experiences with other websites, demonstrating the importance of clear language to distinguish categories effectively. Based on these expectations, groupings were structured to align with participants’ two natural categorization strategies: first, grouping similar items before assigning a label, and second, creating high-level category labels first, then sorting items within those categories.
• Suggestions for Improvement: Participants identified several areas for improvement to enhance clarity and organization within the website. They suggested clarifying program distinctions, such as differentiating between financial support for activities (e.g., paying for a sewing class) and the other ways to get involved, to reduce confusion. It was