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TEST OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of this open card sort study is to better understand the mental models of social enterprise website users to inform the information architecture of the website for the course sponsor, More Than Words. By engaging prospective users in the sorting process, we aim to understand their intuitive grouping and categorization of website content. This will help us identify what makes a website more user-friendly and navigable, aligning with the expectations and behavioral patterns of the target audience, while also providing insights into how users prioritize content.

Key goals include:

  • Identifying how users perceive language and relationships among different content elements.
  • Uncovering user-driven categories that can inform the redesign of the website’s layout to reflect users' mental models and improve the site's usability.
  • Ensuring that the new website information architecture optimizes user access to information and improves overall user satisfaction.

PARTICIPANTS

The card sorting study involved 23 participants who were recruited based on the following limited criteria: being over the age of 18 and currently residing in the United States. Additional information regarding participant’s affiliation and familiarity with social enterprises, motivations for visiting a social enterprise website, and terminology expected on a social enterprise website was collected to better inform the data. The participants had varying familiarity with social enterprises, with 19 having no prior affiliation, 3 currently affiliated, and 1 formerly affiliated. Demographic information pertaining to gender, ethnicity, education, employment, and income range were also gathered to have another dimension to analyze the data, as well as consider whether the participants provided a representative sample.

Details of the participant group include:

  • Demographics: This study included 23 participants, all over the age of 25 and located within the United States. This sample consisted of 11 males, 8 females, and 2 individuals who preferred not to answer. Educational backgrounds varied, with 1 holding a high school diploma or equivalent, 1 with an associate degree, 7 with a bachelor's degree, and 12 with a graduate degree. Employment statuses varied as well, with 13 employed full-time, 3 part-time, 1 unemployed, 2 retired, and 2 who indicated an employment status of “other”. Income ranges varied, from $0 to $30,000 to over $120,000 annually. The participants primarily identified as white with 17 participants, other ethnicities represented include 1 participant identifying as Asian, 1 identifying as Hispanic, and 2 identifying as multiracial. The visualizations below represent the breakdown across demographic information collected for the 23 participants.