Card sorting: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Test in user experience design}}

'''Card sorting''' is a simple technique in [[user experience design]] where a group of subject experts or "users", however inexperienced with design, are guided to generate a category tree or [[folksonomy]]. It is a useful approach for designing [[information architecture]], workflows, menu structure, or web site navigation paths.

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Distinguish|Card sorter}}

'''Card sorting''' is a simple technique in [[user experience design]] wherein which a person tests a group of subject experts or "users", however inexperienced with design, are guided to generate a [[dendrogram]] (category tree) or [[folksonomy]]. It is a useful approach for designing [[information architecture]], workflows, menu structure, or web site navigation paths.

Card sorting has a characteristically low-tech approach. The concepts are first identified and written onto simple [[index card]]s or [[Post-it note]]s. The user group then arranges these to represent the groups or structures they are familiar with.<ref name="Nielsen 1995" >{{cite web

Card sorting uses a relatively low-tech approach. The person conducting the test (usability analyst, user experience designer, etc.) first identifies key concepts and writes them on [[index card]]s or [[Post-it note]]s. Test subjects, individually or sometimes as a group, then arrange the cards to represent how they see the structure and relationships of the information.<ref name="Nielsen 1995" >{{cite web

|title=Card Sorting to Discover the Users' Model of the Information Space

|website=Nielsen Norman Group

|url=http://www.useit.com/papers/sun/cardsort.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505030209/http://www.useit.com/papers/sun/cardsort.html

|archive-date=2012-05-05

|url-status=dead

|first=Jakob|last=Nielsen

|authorlink=Jakob Nielsen (usability consultant)

|date=May 1995}}</ref>

Groups may eithercan be organisedorganized as collaborative groups ([[focus groups]]) or as repeated individual sorts. The literature discusses appropriate numbers of users needed to produce trustworthy results.<ref name="Nielsen 2004" >{{cite web

|title=Card Sorting: How Many Users to Test

|website=Nielsen Norman Group

|url=http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040719.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027101903/http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040719.html

|archive-date=2012-10-27

|url-status=dead

|first=Jakob|last=Nielsen

|authorlink=Jakob Nielsen (usability consultant)

Line 16 ⟶ 28:

}}</ref>

A card sort is commonly undertaken when designing a navigation structure for an environment that offers an interestinga variety of content and functionalityfunctions, such as a web site.<ref name="Boxes and Arrows" >{{cite web

|url=http://boxesandarrows.com/card-sorting-a-definitive-guide/

|title=Card sorting: a definitive guide

|website=Boxes and Arrows

|date=April 7, 2004

|first1=Donna|last1=Maurer|first2=Todd|last2=Warfel

}}</ref><ref name="uk.net.web.authoring" >{{cite newsgroup

Line 28 ⟶ 42:

|date=April 29, 2008

}}</ref><ref name="Syntagm" >{{cite web

|title=Design for Usability – Card Sorting Introduction

|url=http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/cardsortcardsortintro.shtml

|website=Design for Usability

|publisher=[http://www.syntagm.co.uk Syntagm Ltd.]

}}</ref><ref name="Head First Web Design" >{{cite book

|access-date=April 4, 2017

}}</ref><ref name="Head First Web Design" >{{cite book

|last1=Watrall |first1=Ethan |last2=Siarto |first2=Jeff

|title=Head First Web Design

|url={{google books|FMYCsT-cZDUC|plainurl=yes}}

|pages=81–100

|chapter=Organizing Your Site: ‘So you take a left at the green water tower…’

|chapter-url={{google books|FMYCsT-cZDUC|page=69|plainurl=yes}}

|pages=[{{google books|FMYCsT-cZDUC|page=81|plainurl=yes}} 81]–[{{google books|FMYCsT-cZDUC|page=100|plainurl=yes}} 100]

|year=2009

|isbn=978-0-596-52030-4

|oclc=880220576

|___location=Sebastopol, CA

|publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]]

|via=Google Books

}}</ref> In that context, the items to be organizedorganize are those that are significant in the environment. The way that the items are organized should make sense to the target audience and cannot be determined from [[first principles]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}

The field of [[information architecture]] is founded uponon the study of the structure of information. If an accepted and standardized [[Taxonomy (general)|taxonomy]] exists for a subject, it would be natural to simply apply that taxonomy as a means ofto organizingorganize both the information in the environment, and any navigation to particular subjects or functions.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}} Card sorting is applieduseful when:

* The variety in theof items to be organizedorganize is so great that no existing taxonomy is accepted as organizing the items.

* The similaritiesSimilarities among the items make them difficult to divide clearly into categories.

* Members of the audience that uses the environment may differ significantly in how they view the similarities among items and the appropriate groupings of items.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}

== Basic method ==

{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2017}}

To perform a card sort:

# A person representative of the audience is givenreceives a set of index cards with terms already written on them.

# This person putsgroups the terms intoin logicalwhatever groupingsway they think is logical, and findsgives each group a category name, foreither eachfrom an existing card or by writing a name on a blank groupingcard.

# ThisTesters processrepeat isthis repeatedprocess across a populationgroup of test subjects.

# The results aretesters later analyzedanalyze the results to revealdiscover patterns.

==Variants==

{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2017}}

=== ClosedOpen card sorting ===

In an '''open card sort''', participants create their own names for the categories. This helps reveal not only how they mentally classify the cards, but also what terms they use for the categories. Open sorting is '''generative'''; it is typically used to discover patterns in how participants classify, which in turn helps generate ideas for organizing information.

=== OpenClosed card sorting ===

In a '''closed card sort''', participants are provided with a predetermined set of category names. They then assign the index cards to these fixed categories. This helps reveal the degree to which the participants agree on which cards belong under each category. Closed sorting is '''evaluative'''; it is typically used to judge whether a given set of category names provides an effective way to organize a given collection of content.

In an '''open card sort''', participants create their own names for the categories.

=== Reverse card sorting ===

This helps reveal not only how they mentally classify the cards, but also what terms they use for the categories.

In a '''reverse card sort''' or(more card-basedpopularly called classification[[tree testtesting]]), an existing structure of categories and sub-categories is tested. Users are given tasks and are asked to complete them navigating a collection of cards. Each card contains the names of subcategories related to a category, and the user should find the card most relevant to the given task starting from the main card with the top-level categories. This ensures that the structure is evaluated in isolation, nullifying the effects of navigational aids, visual design, and other factors. Reverse card sorting is '''evaluative'''—it judges whether a predetermined hierarchy provides a good way to find information.

== Online (remote)=Modified-Delphi card sorting ===

Open sorting is '''generative'''; it is typically used to discover patterns in how participants classify, which in turn helps generate ideas for organizing information.

Created by [[Celeste Paul]], The Modified-Delphi card sort is based on the [[Delphi method]]. Rather than each participant creating their own card sort, only the first participant does a full card sort of organizing and arranging items. The next participant iterates on the first participant's model, then the third participant iterates on the second's model, and so on. The idea is that with each iteration the card sort gets more refined with fewer participants and consensus is built sooner. <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Celeste Lyn |title=A modified Delphi approach to a new card sorting methodology |journal=Journal of Usability Studies |date=November 2008 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=7–30 |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/2835577.2835579}}</ref>

=== Closed card sorting ===

In a '''closed card sort''', participants are provided with a predetermined set of category names. They then assign the index cards to these fixed categories.

This helps reveal the degree to which the participants agree on which cards belong under each category.

Closed sorting is '''evaluative'''; it is typically used to judge whether a given set of category names provides an effective way to organize a given collection of content.

=== Reverse card sorting ===

{{See also|Tree testing (information architecture)}}

In a '''reverse card sort''' or card-based classification test, an existing structure of categories and sub-categories is tested. Users are given tasks and are asked to complete them navigating a collection of cards. Each card contains the names of subcategories related to a category, and the user should find the card most relevant to the given task starting from the main card with the top-level categories. This ensures that the structure is evaluated in isolation, nullifying the effects of navigational aids, visual design, and other factors.

Reverse card sorting is '''evaluative'''; it is used to judge whether a predetermined hierarchy provides a good way to find information.

==Analysis==

Various methods can be used to analyze the data. The purpose of the analysis is to extract patterns from the population of test subjects, so that a common set of categories and relationships emerges. This common set is then incorporated into the design of the environment, either for navigation or for other purposes. Card sorting is also evaluated through [[dendrogram]]s. There is some indication that different evaluation methods for card sorting provide different results.<ref>{{cite journalconference

|last=Nawaz|first=Ather

|title=A Comparison of Card-sorting Analysis Methods

|journalconference=The 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Computer Human Interaction (APCHI2012)

|url=http://openarchive.cbs.dk/handle/10398/8587

|date=SeptemberAugust 2012

}}</ref>

|___location=Matsue, Japan

|hdl=10398/8587

}} {{open access}}</ref>

Card sorting is an established technique with an emerging literature.<ref>{{cite book |last=Spencer |first=Donna |date=2009 |title=Card Sorting: Designing Usable Categories |url=http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/card-sorting/ |publisher=Rosenfeld Media |___location=Brooklyn, NY |isbn=1933820020978-1-933820-02-6 |oclc=761032171 }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=April 2017}}

==Online (remote) card sorting==

Card sorting is an established technique with an emerging literature.<ref>{{cite book |last=Spencer |first=Donna |date=2009 |title=Card Sorting: Designing Usable Categories |url=http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/card-sorting/ |publisher=Rosenfeld Media |isbn=1933820020}}</ref>

There are aA number of web-based tools are available to perform card sorting activities with survey participants via the internet. The perceived advantage of remoteweb-based card sorting is that it allowsreaches a larger group of participants to be reached at a lower cost. The software can also assisthelp inanalyze the process of analyzing card sort results. TheA perceived advantagesdisadvantage of a remote card sort must be traded off againstis the lack of personal interaction between card sort participants and the card sort administrator, which may produce valuable insights.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tullis|first1=Tom|title=Card-sorting Tools|url=http://measuringuserexperience.com/cardsorting/index.htm|website=Measuring User Experience|page=1|accessdate=29 August 2017|date=3 March 2015}}</ref>

==See also==

== Online (remote) card sorting ==

* [[Cluster analysis]]

There are a number of tools available to perform card sorting activities with survey participants via the internet. The perceived advantage of remote card sorting is that it allows a larger group of participants to be reached at a lower cost. The software can also assist in the process of analyzing card sort results. The advantages of a remote card sort must be traded off against the lack of personal interaction between card sort participants and the card sort administrator, which may produce valuable insights.

* [[Group concept mapping]]

* [[Q methodology]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

== External links ==

* {{cite book |last=Coxon |first=Anthony Peter Macmillan |date=1999 |title=Sorting Data: Collection and Analysis |url={{google books|1Uz6GVbwlcIC|plainurl=yes}} |via=Google Books |isbn=978-0-8039-7237-7 |publisher=SAGE |series=Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences |volume=127 |issn=0149-192X }}

* [http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/card_sorting.html Peer-reviewed encyclopedia chapter on Card Sorting]

* {{cite encyclopedia |first=William |last=Hudson |url=http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/card_sorting.html |title=Card Sorting |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction |edition=2nd |editor1-last=Soegaard |editor1-first=Mads |editor2-last=Dam |editor2-first=Rikke Friis |publisher=Interaction Design Foundation }}

* [http://jonathanmelhuish.com/2009/06/how-to-know-what-to-put-where-card-sorting/ Short video explanation of card sorting]

* {{cite web |first=Sergey |last=Sinyakov |date=May 13, 2013 |title=Can Card Sorting Improve the Usability of Your Designs? |website=Design Instruct |url=http://designinstruct.com/web-design/card-sorting-usability-designs/ }}

* [http://blog.usabilitytools.com/card-sorting-quick-dirty-guide-beginners/ Informative article on Card Sorting]

[[Category:Folksonomy]]

[[Category:Usability]]

[[Category:Human–computer interaction]]

[[Category:Qualitative research]]

[[Category:Survey methodology]]

[[Category:Usability]]