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Gender and Web Searching |
| Introduction Technology Issues and Decisions Phase I: Color Preference Test Phase II: Shades of Difference Phase III: Website Preferences Phase IV: Alternative Presentations of Identical Content
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This study investigated, based on Simon’s behavioral decision-making theories of bounded rationality and satisficing, decision making in relation to the World Wide Web and considered the role of personal preferences in Web-based decisions. Agosto’s qualitative study used adolescent females and revealed that study participants did operate within the limits of bounded rationality and that these limits took the form of time constraints, information overload, and physical constraints. Personal preference was found to play a major role in website evaluation in the areas of graphic/multimedia and subject content preferences. Arnold, Jill & Miller, Hugh. 1999. Gender and web home pages. Draft of a paper Presented at CAL99 Virtuality in Education Conference, London March 28-31. Available: http://ess.ntu.ac.uk/miller/cyberpsych/cal99.htm. Last accessed: 4/21/03. By 1998 the number of women with homepages had increased dramatically but they still have fewer pages than men do. This study looks at gender differences in the construction of these web pages, focusing mainly on textual content. In general, men’s pages were shorter, but there was more variety in length and self-reference in women’s pages. Women made more references to the reader and seemed to be more aware of those who would be viewing their pages. This seems to show that women concentrate more on individualized communication with others than do men. Ford, Nigel; Miller, David; & Moss, Nicola. 2001. The role of individual differences in Internet searching: An empirical study. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 52(12), 1049-1066. This study looked at dimensions of individual differences in internet searching. These dimensions included cognitive styles, levels of prior experience, perceptions of the internet, study approaches, age, and gender. Retrieval effectiveness was linked to male gender, low cognitive complexity, imager as a cognitive style, and various internet perceptions. Miller, Hugh & Arnold, Jill. 2000. Gender and web home pages. Computers and Education 34(3-4), 335-339. This study finds that most personal web home pages reflect well-known forms of self-presentation such as pen-pal letters, curriculum vitae, and high school yearbook. Few pages were authored by women and few women had pictures of themselves on their web pages although the number of women with pages has increased dramatically in the last few years. Women were more likely to use “fluffy” images such as flowers while males were more likely to use “macho” technical images. Males were more likely to take a “trust me” tone while women were more likely to take an unassuming stance such as “Well, this is me and what I’ve done.” No women’s sites were as overtly confident as some of the men’s sites. Women were more likely to see themselves as interactional and claim identity as part of a network of relationships. Miller, Laura. 1997. Sexing the machine. Salon. Available: http://www.salon.com/sept97/21st/tech970911.html. Last accessed: 4/21/03. Three “digital women” conduct an e-mail conversation about technology, the changes it is working in their lives, and how these changes effect women in particular. To the surprise of the magazine’s editors, little of the conversation revolved around the complaint that women have been excluded from the world of high technology but rather focused on the more fundamental question of how technology is shaping the world of women. Perry, Leslie & Perry, Timothy. 1997. Gender differences in Internet use: Do they exist? Available: http://www.eiu.edu/~mediasrv/iaectJournal/1998/04perry.htm. Last accessed: 4/21/03. A small study at two universities that compares Internet use on the basis of gender and finds that male students are more involved in Internet use than females but that both male and female students have similar predictions for future use. Rodino, Michelle. 1997. Breaking out of binaries: Reconceptualizing gender and its Relationship to language in computer-mediated communication. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 3 (D3). Available: http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol3/issue3/rodino.html. Last accessed: 4/21/03. Analyzes interactions in the virtual environment of the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) to the extent to which research on face-to-face talk and computer-mediated communication can describe gender and its relationship to language. Past research has generally relied on “dualistic descriptions” and binary categorizations but Rodino finds that neither the function of utterances nor the construction of gender adheres to this type of description. While some researches tend to view this type of communication as a “fantasy world” reality, she finds that gender should be recognized as virtual reality that overlaps the real and the virtual worlds. Shashaani, Lily & Khalili, Ashmad. 2001. Gender and computers: Similarities and Differences in Iranian college students’ attitudes towards computers. Computers And Education 37(3-4), 363-375. Using the survey method, the attitudes of Iranian undergraduates towards computers were studied. Significant gender differences were found with respect to confidence about computers and stereotypic views of computer users. Females showed stronger feelings about equal gender ability and competence in the use of computers, but expressed low confidence in their ability to work with computers. No gender differences were found in response to “liking” computers and usefulness of computers or belief in the positive effects of computers on society. Shaw, Graham & Marlow, Nigel. 1999. The role of student learning styles, gender, attitudes and perceptions on information and communication technology assisted learning. Computers and Education 33(4), 223-234. Study uses undergraduate students to examine and evaluate students’ attitudes towards the use of communication and information technology. Students were classified according to learning styles but no significant differences were found in learning styles between the two genders although attitudinal differences within learning styles were found. ANOVA statistics did reveal a significant difference in attitudes toward ICT between the genders but only in the “comfort” dimension with males feeling more at ease with technology than women. No significance was found in the other dimensions of interactivity, self-satisfaction, valuing new technology, interactivity, and context. Weisbard, Phyllis. 2000. Cyberjanes and cyberjitters: Myths and realities of gender differences and the net. Paper presented at WAAL Spring Conference April 12. Available: http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/Talks/waaltalk.htm. Last accessed: 4/21/03 Prior to 1996, most research into gender differences and the Internet found a large gap between its use by men and women, and the computer-mediated communication exaggerated these differences. In response to these differences, numerous organizations and business ventures “jumped into the fray” in an effort to get more women involved. By 1997, the number of women using the Internet for e-mail and other activities had increased to nearly 50% of total users. A 1999 study by Proctor and Gamble has developed profiles of the types of women most likely to use the Internet. While in the US, women’s Internet use has begun to closely resemble men’s usage, globally it is still a male domain. Wilson, E. Vance. 2000. Student characteristics and computer-mediated communication. Computers in Education 34(2), 67-76. This examination of computer-mediated communication to support coursework looks at student characteristics that lead to academic success in comparison to face-to-face communication. Most of the results suggest that students with high-achievement or high-aptitude characteristics do equally well in both types of courses but that personality type influences academic success. The study found that more CMCS messages were sent by female and high aptitude students, Zoe, Lucinda & DiMartino, Diane. 2000. Cultural diversity and end-user searching: An analysis by gender and language background. Research Strategies 17(4), 291-305. The study looks at the effects of language, cultural background, and gender on end-user searching. Native language and English-as-second language graduate students were tested using Lexis/Nexis to retrieve documents. While there were no real differences between males and females in the reporting of positive results, East Asian women had a more marked positive response than East Asian men. More women than men reported that they needed assistance, and Native English speaking women were more likely to ask for help than English speaking men. In contrast, both East Asian males and females asked for help to about the same degree. An analysis by gender showed no noticeable gender gap in previous research and sources used. Women, in general, seemed to prefer a more informal search environment where instruction takes place as part of a participatory collective process with interaction and exchange.
Project C.O.P.E.: Content,
Organization, Preference, Evaluation
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