Communiqué, issue 6, 2003
Articles
- 2004 programme presents challenges and opportunities
- Spotlight on social policy for Irish EU Presidency
- Local partnerships can boost social inclusion
- Reaping the gains of industrial change
- Use of IT in publishing and media
- Cross-border coordination in the EU motor sector
- Better employment prospects for ill, disabled
- Web user survey results
- New working conditions observatory takes shape
Previous issues of Communiqué
Preliminary results from the web user survey of the Foundation's parent website, Eurofound, highlight the need for a more consistent structure, a more dynamic ‘look’ and an improved search engine.
The average visitor to the Eurofound website is over 40 years old and most likely to be a professional researcher involved in policy development and implementation, the recent survey reveals. The results of the survey, which ran between September and October 2003 and was open to all visitors to the website, will form the basis for the architectural overhaul of all the Foundation’s websites planned for 2004.
Looking for specific information
The majority of users (91%) said they were looking for specific information when coming to Eurofound, indicating that the search function is the most important feature on the website. Only one in two respondents browse for new information, according to the results. A large proportion of users (72%) look for research results while a considerable number (63%) are interested in comparative data and statistics.
Putting the user in the driving seat
Almost three-quarters of respondents ranked Eurofound above average in terms of relevance, usefulness and objectivity and over 80% claimed they found what they wanted on the site. A healthy 88% of users reported being ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the overall quality of Eurofound, with 85% of respondents using the English site exclusively.
The survey has, however, revealed a demand for a more consistent structure, using expanded menus, and improvements to the search engine, adding a search box on each page. Finally, there is also a need to link the information with the Foundation’s EIRO and EMCC subsites, consolidating the corporate image.