Effects of Cognitive Style on Web Search and Navigation

This study examined how users with different cognitive styles locate information on a university Web site, a hypermedia-based information system. A hypermedia system is considered to be capable of accommodating cognitive style differences because of its multimodal attributes. Undergraduate students with different cognitive styles (field-dependence and field-independence) participated in the study. Findings suggest that the level of users’ online search experience influenced effects of cognitive style on the search and navigational behavior. Only the field-dependent users with little or no online experience seemed to have difficulties in retrieving information on the Web.