Bases de dados em arquivologia no Brasil: estudo da usabilidade na Base de Dados em Arquivística (BDA) e na Base de Dados Pesquisas Arquivísticas Brasileiras (PAB)

Abstract

Database configurations are an important resource that provide a means to store, access, and manage information. In Archival Science, especially in Brazil, databases geared towards the field are new and deserve to be explored by the academic community. Considering the role of these databases in the development of Archival Science as a scientific field and as a communication tool, this study aims to analyze the interface Base de Dados em Arquivística (BDA) and the Base de Dados Pesquisas Arquivísticas Brasileiras (PAB) regarding usability and its interaction with users. This is an exploratory-descriptive research, with a qualitative-quantitative approach, where the first phase involved a heuristic evaluation of the interface of the two databases, using the guidelines proposed by Nielsen and Tahir (2002). The results of this evaluation indicated that the interfaces of the two databases are adequate to most of the proposed guidelines. In addition, the interfaces are considered intuitive, user-friendly, and objective. The second phase consisted of applying a usability test, through a questionnaire to measure the satisfaction of the users of the mentioned databases. The results indicate that the users of BDA and PAB are satisfied with the usability of these databases, however, suggest improvements in the available options for search and information retrieval.