Accommodating individual differences in searching a hierarchical file system
International Journal of Man-Machine Studies
Information retrieval using a hypertext-based help system
ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS)
The matters that really matter for hypertext usability
HYPERTEXT '89 Proceedings of the second annual ACM conference on Hypertext
Effects of three different hypertextual menu designs on various information searching activities
Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia
Lost in hyperspace: cognitive mapping and navigation in a hypertext environment
Hypertext: theory into practice
Gender differences in collaborative web searching behavior: an elementary school study
Information Processing and Management: an International Journal
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
The effects of metaphors on novice and expert learners' performance and mental-model development
Interacting with Computers
Towards a practical measure of hypertext usability
Interacting with Computers
Effects of sense of direction on Internet skill and cognitive maps of the Web
Computers in Human Behavior
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Hypertext is becoming increasingly popular as a platform for educational material, allowing the user autonomy and flexibility in choosing a route through the presented information. However, the required decision-making process places extra cognitive demands on the user, and this may result in disorientation and the phenomenon known as "lost in hyperspace". Individuals with high spatial ability appear to demonstrate superior navigational skills within hypertext, completing tasks more quickly and with fewer errors then those with low spatial ability. They tend to form more accurate internal representations, or cognitive maps, of hypertext systems that correspond better to the underlying physical structure. Little research has been carried out with children to assess their formation of cognitive maps of hyperspace. In this study, 32 children aged 10-11 years from a primary school in the UK were given search tasks to complete on an environmental Web site. Various measures were made of their navigational efficiency, their degree of lostness, and their ability to complete a map of the routes they had traversed. Those with high spatial ability completed the tasks in shorter time, became lost less frequently, and completed the maps more accurately. This paper discusses the implications of these results to the success of hypertext learning environments for learners with low spatial ability.