TrackBrowser

Download it here

TrackBrowser is a simple to use web browser designed for researching web usability. It can be used as a normal browser if required, but that is not its intended purpose.

What TrackBrowser does is this: It records a users behaviour while they are browsing the web. A series of events (which can be controlled by the experimentor) can be recorded to a text file along with the time (to the second) and date are recorded alongside, allowing a researcher to get a complete record of what the user did

The events that may be recorded are:

  • When the back button was pressed;
  • When the forward button was pressed;
  • When the home button was pressed;
  • When the reload / refresh button was pressed;
  • When the user clicks on a hyperlink;
  • When the user hovers the mouse over a hyperlink;
  • When a document was loaded (to account for latency);

    The events recorded are controlled by a simple dialog box. After starting the browser, click on Edit -> Preferences... , and just tick those events that you want, then click on the "okay" button. Just before the experiment begins, click on Edit -> Set Log File... and a dialog will open asking for a file name. This is the file that the data are saved to.

    Technical

    The program is written in Python & wxPython and is just a simple wxFrame that contains an instance of Internet Explorer. This means that TrackBrowser is a fully functional web browser with Java, Javascript and all associated goodies (including viruses so beware!). However, it seems that it doesn't open up pop-up windows which can often bring a web usability study to a grinding halt.

    For those who do not have Python installed, there is a standalone version made with the McMillan installer which contains all the essential files.

    Alan James Salmoni, Cardiff.