Background
The International Migration Research Centre’s (IMRC) website is a platform for research about migration, mobility, displacement, and border issues. The research is presented as articles, peer-reviewed publications, images, videos, and podcasts.
Target Users
This site needs to support many different types of users. The target users are students and scholars, policymakers, community members, and other organizations related to immigration.
We chose to focus on students and scholars for this project.
User Information-Seeking Behaviours
Based on a literature review of sources regarding information-seeking behaviours of students and scholars we determined the most common behaviours of our users. These behaviours will need to be supported in our design recommendations:
- Berry Picking
- Foraging
- Pearl-growing
The Problem
Starting with a content inventory and hierarchy anaylsis to gain an initial understanding of the website's issues, we discovered three problems.
Unclear Navigation
Some of the site's top-level categories were clickable with their own pages, while others weren't.
Ineffectively Organized
Some areas of the site seemed hard to find, while others felt outdated. For instance, the News section was difficult to access, and some top-level categories contained outdated information.
Inconsistent Labelling
The site frequently used different names for the same content, which could be confusing for users.
In some cases, the labels didn’t match the page titles. For instance, clicking on "Projects Map" led users to a page titled "IMRC Around the World." Small inconsistencies like these can confuse users and make navigation challenging.
Card Sorting
We performed two card sorts to understand how participants grouped content on the IMRC website and what they would name these groups; one with student participants (moderated) and one with IMRC board members (unmoderated).
The results were then used to inform design recommendations for the organization and labelling of content.
Student Similarity Matrix
Board Member Similarity Matrix
Tree Testing
Then, we conducted a Tree Test to examine the existing navigational structure.
The results of the initial Tree Test, along with the findings from the card sort study were used to inform changes to the website's navigation.
These revisions were then tested in another Tree Test.
Tree test for Existing Website Hierarchy
Tree test for Revised Website Hierarchy
Sitemap
Using the results from our card sorts and tree tests we created a sitemap for the new revised navigational structure.
Results
Navigation Structure and Content Organization
The suggested top-level categories for the website navigation include “About,” “Our Focus,” “Research,” “Events,” “Get Involved,” and “Contact Us.” Key changes include renaming “Pillars” to “Our Focus,” consolidating research areas under this category, and creating separate pages for “Get Involved,” “Events,” and an “About” section.
Content Visibility and Labeling Improvements
Recommendations involve moving the “IMRC at Glance” video lower on the page for better visibility of key information, changing “Spotlights” to “News” for clarity, and updating “Students” to “PhD Students” for more precise labeling. Additionally, incorporating brief profiles for the Board of Directors is suggested to enhance user experience.
Search Functionality Enhancements
To improve search capabilities, suggestions include adding a search bar, search filters, a faceted navigation menu, and a zero results page that provides alternatives and suggestions. Additional features like "Recent Articles" and "Related Articles" sections are proposed to support user exploration and improve navigation efficiency.
