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Tweaks Boost Student Satisfaction With Gale Product

Farmington Hills-based Gale, part of Cengage Learning, today announced results of independent customer satisfaction research and analysis revealing that high school students are more satisfied with the Gale In Context platform, designed based on user input and an in-depth study of student research processes.

Frank Menchaca, executive vice president and publisher at Gale, said the company began working with the Ann Arbor-based online customer satisfaction research firm ForeSee Results to identify what drives user satisfaction, "so we could prioritize product improvements for the greatest impact. This feedback is integral to achieving our ultimate goal – creating products that users like and will use time and again."

Menchaca noted that "this latest round of data shows high school students are more satisfied now with the transition to our In Context products."

Previously known as Gale Resource Centers, the Gale In Context product line was completely transformed to combine web-like functionality and media rich features with high-quality information. ForeSee Results evaluated the satisfaction of student users of both Gale Resource Centers and Gale In Context products.

ForeSee Results satisfaction scores are based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the leading national indicator of customer satisfaction with goods and services in the United States economy, and a patented scientific approach to customer satisfaction measurement. ForeSee Results applies the ACSI methodology to the web to measure key elements of online satisfaction -- site performance, navigation and more -- and analyzes how these elements impact overall user satisfaction and future behavior.

Satisfaction scores are reported on a 0-100 scale with a score of 70 reflecting good satisfaction and 80 generally reflecting excellence. ForeSee survey results show that high school student satisfaction with Gale In Context Web sites has increased to 71, four points higher than the satisfaction score for Gale Resource Centers, and shows a trend in the right direction.

Changes in satisfaction over time are also very meaningful. A sustained change of 2-3 points (up or down) is statistically significant and changes greater than 5 points are considered major events. ForeSee Results analysis reveals that high school students' likelihood to recommend In Context products versus Resource Centers has increased by three points, a significant increase.

In addition, the results show that student satisfaction in all measured categories -- content, look and feel, navigation, search, site performance, likelihood to return and likelihood to use as a primary resource -- has increased with the updates made in the transformation to the In Context platform.

Specifically, content rose one point to 74, look and feel rose six points to 71, navigation rose two points to 70, search rose two points to 69, site performance rose one point to 75, likelihood to return rose one point to 77, and likelihood to use as a primary resource rose three points to 71.

The Gale In Context line of products includes, Biography in Context,
Canada in Context, Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Student Resources in Context, Science in Context, U.S. History in Context and
World History in Context.

More at www.gale.cengage.com.

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