Card sorting: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:36, 11 August 2016

Revision as of 08:33, 7 September 2016

Line 32:

|title=Design for Usability – Card Sorting

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

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

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

|title=Head First Web Design

Line 46:

* Members of the audience that uses the environment differ significantly in how they view the similarities among items and the appropriate groupings of items.

== Basic method ==

To perform a card sort:

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

Line 54:

==Variants==

=== Open card sorting ===

=== Open 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.

=== 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 ===

In a '''reverse card sort''' (more popularly called [[tree testing]]), 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.

Line 74 ⟶ 73:

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>

== Online (remote) card sorting ==

A number of web-based tools are available to perform card sorting. The perceived advantage of web-based card sorting is that it reaches a larger group of participants at a lower cost. The software can also help analyze the sort results. A perceived disadvantage of a remote card sort is the lack of personal interaction between card sort participants and the card sort administrator, which may produce valuable insights.

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

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

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