User studies informing E-table interfaces

In this paper, we describe a series of user studies that were used to advance understanding of how people use electronic tables (E-Tables) and inform the development of a web-based statistical table browser for use by nonspecialists. Interviews and focus groups with providers, intermediaries, and non-specialist end users; transaction log analysis; and email content analysis were used to develop a user-task taxonomy for government statistical data. These studies were the basis for a prototype web-based interface for browsing statistical tables. Two usability studies with 23 subjects and two eye-tracking studies with 21 subjects were conducted with this interface and paper, PDF, and spreadsheet interfaces. The results of the needs assessment, prototype development, and user studies provide a foundation for understanding E-Tables in general and guiding continued design of interfaces for E-Tables.