Note Taking and Note Sharing While Browsing Campaign Information

Participants were observed while searching and browsing the internet for campaign information in a mock-voting situation in three online note-taking conditions: No Notes, Private Notes, and Shared Notes. Note taking significantly influenced the manner in which participants browsed for information about candidates. Note taking competed for time and cognitive resources and resulted in less thorough browsing. Effects were strongest when participants thought that their notes would be seen by others. Think-aloud comments indicated that participants were more evaluative when taking notes, especially shared notes. Our results suggest that there could be design trade-offs between e-Democracy and e-Participation technologies.