Abstract
The paper presents a novel user interface (Gardner, et al., 2005) designed by LexisNexis® to assist researchers navigating large hierarchical structures. This navigation tool allows users of large hierarchies (e.g., tables of contents or file directories) to select an item (node) in the structure and expand (or collapse) it across multiple levels with a single selection. User evaluation was conducted with no participants training or prior use, finding the interface effective for complex navigation. Nearly a third (of 18) immediately displayed and selected hi***erarchy levels with no hesitation, even when expanding an entire table of contents section to its lowest level. While these participants were those most experienced with large documents, several less-experienced participants used the interface easily once prompted. While the remainder experienced some difficulties with initial interaction, these were related to context, domain experience, and prior habit rather than tool usability.
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