Touch-Screen Tablet Navigation and Older Adults
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2015 Touch-screen tablet navigation and older adults: an investigation into the perceptions and opinions of baby boomers on long, scrolling home pages and the "hamburger icon" Linda Litchfield Griffen Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Art and Design Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Digital Communications and Networking Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gerontology Commons, and the Social Media Commons Recommended Citation Griffen, Linda Litchfield, "Touch-screen tablet navigation and older adults: an investigation into the perceptions and opinions of baby boomers on long, scrolling home pages and the "hamburger icon"" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 14388. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/14388 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Touch-screen tablet navigation and older adults: An investigation into the perceptions and opinions of baby boomers on long, scrolling home pages and the “hamburger icon” by Linda Litchfield Griffen A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF FINE ARTS Major: Graphic Design Program of Study Committee: Sunghyun Ryoo Kang, Major Professor Debra Satterfield Roger Baer Jennifer Margrett Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2015 Copyright © Linda Litchfield Griffen, 2015. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................... v NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT………………………………............................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................. 1 1.1 Overview..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement...................................................................................... 3 1.3 Purpose of Study......................................................................................... 9 1.4 Research Questions and Methods ............................................................... 11 1.5 Significance of the Study............................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE............................................................. 13 2.1 Overview..................................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 Time frame and scope..................................................................... 13 2.2 The Aging Population................................................................................. 14 2.2.1 Societal impacts .............................................................................. 15 2.3 Generational Categorizations...................................................................... 16 2.3.1 The power of the baby boom generation ........................................ 18 2.4 Defining Aging........................................................................................... 20 2.4.1 Physiological impacts of aging ....................................................... 23 2.4.2 How physiological decline affects website use .............................. 25 2.5 Website and Device Usage Data for Older Adults ..................................... 26 2.6 Website Usability Guidelines for Older Adults.......................................... 28 2.7 Inclusive Design Considerations................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 33 3.1 Methodology Overview .............................................................................. 33 3.2 Website Prototype....................................................................................... 34 3.3 Participant Recruitment and Screening Questionnaire ............................... 35 3.4 Population and Sample ............................................................................... 39 3.5 Focus Group Sessions................................................................................. 43 iii CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS.......................................................................................... 45 4.1 Data Analysis Overview ............................................................................. 45 4.2 Results ........................................................................................................ 46 4.2.1 Research question one .................................................................... 46 4.2.2 Research question two .................................................................... 49 4.2.3 Research question three .................................................................. 54 4.2.4 Research question four.................................................................... 58 4.2.5 Additional findings ......................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................. 69 5.1 Discussion................................................................................................... 69 5.1.1 Long, scrolling home pages............................................................ 69 5.1.2 The hamburger icon........................................................................ 70 5.1.3 Additional findings......................................................................... 72 5.2 Recommendations....................................................................................... 74 5.2.1 Long, scrolling home pages............................................................ 74 5.2.2 The hamburger icon........................................................................ 76 5.2.3 Additional findings......................................................................... 77 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 79 6.1 Challenges................................................................................................... 80 6.2 Limitations .................................................................................................. 81 6.3 Areas for Further Research ......................................................................... 81 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX A . INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL FORM AND ATTACHMENTS ............................................................................ 91 APPENDIX B. FOCUS GROUP TRANSCRIPTS WITH KEYWORDS AND PHRASES UNDERLINED AND ORGANIZED BY FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS ..................................................................... 108 APPENDIX C. FOCUS GROUP TRANSCRIPTS, CODED AND CATEGORIZED BY RESEARCH QUESTIONS .......................... 135 iv LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Example of a Long, Scrolling Home Page in Different Monitor Widths ..................................................................... 6 Figure 2 First Known Use of the Hamburger Icon.............................................. 7 Figure 3 Hamburger Icon with a Dropdown Menu............................................. 7 Figure 4 Focus Group Prototype – Home Page Layout ...................................... 36 Figure 5 Focus Group Prototype – Hamburger Icon, Dropdown Menu and Inside Page ..................................................................................... 37 Figure 6 Age of Participants................................................................................ 40 Figure 7 Educational Level of Participants ......................................................... 40 Figure 8 Length of Time Using a Desktop Computer, Laptop Computer, Tablet, and Smartphone ........................................................................ 42 Figure 9 Comfort Level with a Desktop Computer, Laptop Computer, Tablet, and Smartphone ........................................................................ 42 Figure 10 Preference Rating of Long, Scrolling Home Pages and Hamburger Icons................................................................................... 68 v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Variance in Generation Names and Year Spans .................................. 16 Table 2 Percentage of the Internet-using Population by Generation ................. 27 Table 3 Percentage of American Adults Age 18+ Who Go Online................... 27 Table 4 Distribution of Tablet Ownership in the United States......................... 28 Table 5 Frequency of Checking Email .............................................................. 41 Table 6 Number of