International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The concept of navigation refers to the interpretation of user actions in hypermedia as a movement through virtual space. Navigation can thus be seen as → selective exposure to hypermedia on a micro-level. Hypermedia commonly includes graphics and fragments of audio, video, and plain text (nodes), which are all knotted via hyperlinks. Navigation research is dedicated to the study of personal, situational, and media influences on how users move through hypermedia, select links, search for → information , and learn from hypertext contents (→ Learning and Communication ). The standard situation while navigating in hypermedia can be characterized as follows: information about the destination of a link is mostly marginal, while structure is decentralized. Searching for information in hypermedia can be understood as a spate of cognitive decisions on how and where to navigate. Paths of decision may be rather long. At each step, there are a large number of available alternatives. All of these produce low transparency and high uncertainty. On the other hand, users can determine how, and how fast, information will be processed. This leads to high situational control. Additionally, it does not require much effort to revise a wrong decision; users only need to click on the “back” button. Therefore, navigation can be described as a low-cost situation (time, money, physical effort). However, ... log in or subscribe to read full text