3.5 Navigating hyperspace

The primary advantage of hypertext and hypermedia systems over more traditional information systems based on databases is that users need not formulate queries to find information. Instead, graphical point-and-click style interaction is possible, which is easy and intuitive even for computer novices. This is what makes the hypermedia paradigm so attractive to millions of new Internet users.

Studies have shown that users employ a number of different navigation strategies when navigating through a complex information space:

Scanning: covering a large area without depth.
Browsing: following a path by association until one's interest is caught.
Searching: striving to find an explicit goal.
Exploring: finding out the extent of the information space.
Wandering: ambling along in a purposeless, unstructured manner.

By its very nature, hypermedia is an ideal medium for associative browsing. However, the increased freedom offered by hypermedia brings with it increased complexity. Readers of a linear document have only two choices when looking for information: forwards or backwards. Readers of hyperdocuments, on the other hand, can rapidly become overwhelmed by the plethora of choices available to them. This problem is known as the `user disorientation' or `lost in hyperspace' problem (see Section sect:LostInHyperspace).

To help users orient themselves in the information space, many hypermedia systems provide one or more of the following navigational aids in addition to hyperlinks.

3.5.1 Search facilities

3.5.2 Hierarchical structure

3.5.3 Guided tours

3.5.4 Overview documents

3.5.5 Graphical browsers

3.5.6 Backtracking