Heuristic evaluation of e-dictionaries

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the heuristic evaluations of five e-dictionaries according to the criteria developed by Ball and Bothma (2018). E-dictionaries are increasingly making use of modern information technology to create advanced information tools. It is necessary to ensure that these new products are still usable. Heuristic evaluation is a usability evaluation method used to evaluate the usability of a product.

Design/methodology/approach

Five e-dictionaries were evaluated through heuristic evaluation. This method requires an evaluator to evaluate a product by using a set of criteria or guidelines.

Findings

Various usability issues, as well as good features of e-dictionaries, could be identified through these evaluations, and are discussed under the categories of content, information architecture, navigation, access (searching and browsing), help, customisation and use of other innovative technologies.

Originality/value

Through the evaluations in this study, the criteria could be validated and an example of how the criteria can be used to evaluate e-dictionaries could be presented.

Citation

Ball, L.H. and Bothma, T.J.D. (2018), "Heuristic evaluation of e-dictionaries", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 319-338. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-07-2017-0144