Formatting links
A study by Baker, Bernard, and Riley (2002) found no statistical differences in search time across conditions with links with summary, links only, and full text. However, the summary condition was perceived as being the easiest in finding information, being visually pleasing, promoting comprehension, participants' satisfaction with the site, and looking professional. The summary condition was the most preferred, while the full text condition was the least preferred. The full text condition was perceived as being most difficult to find information, not promoting comprehension, not being visually pleasing, and not being satisfying.
Participants reported that they preferred the summary condition over the Links only condition because the brief summaries accompanying the links often guided them to the information they were searching for. Participants commented that, in the links only condition, they sometimes felt as if they were "jumping blindly" into the article. Several participants also reported that they did not like having to scroll through all of the articles in the full text condition. This study suggests that providing a small amount of information about an article on a page is superior to having long, scrolling pages filled with articles.
In presenting a list of links, we found that it is best if they are bulleted
For instance, as discussed in Usability News, Spain compared the accuracy rates for three link conditions: bulleted links, space between the links, and a no bullet/no space condition. It was found that the accuracy rate was
• 100% for bullets
• 89% for spaces
• 67% for no spaces
All participants preferred either the bullets or spaces; no one preferred the no space condition (Spain, 1999). In support of this, Parkinson, Sisson, and Snowberry (1985) found that menus with spacing were searched 25% faster than menus without spacing.