ABSTRACT
This study examined the effectiveness of a map and a contents list on the navigation performance of subjects with and without prior knowledge of the text topic. After reading the text, subjects used the document to answer ten questions. Subjects then completed a cognitive map task. The results showed that performance in the map condition was superior to that of the contents list condition, which in turn was better than that in the hypertext condition (no aid). In addition, knowledgeable subjects performed better than non-knowledgeable subjects, except in the map condition where their performance was equivalent. These results are discussed in relation to the ways in which navigational aids interact with the prior knowledge of the user to enhance or impede performance.
