Authoring hyperdocuments with a sufficiently rich link structure and in such a way that all possible paths are meaningful can be extremely difficult. Adaptive hypermedia techniques may help to ensure that paths are always meaningful. Unfortunately, whether a link structure is static or adaptive, the risk remains that users of a hypertext may become disoriented. Although all possible ways through a hyperdocument are (supposedly) intended by the author, most documents strongly resemble a maze in which it is easy to get lost. Experiments show that even in small documents users experience the "lost in hyperspace" phenomenon [NL90].
The navigation of the user through a hyperdocument is influenced by three factors:
A more formal approach to the disorientation problem is to study the possible "paths" through a hyperdocument. This is known as the study of browsing semantics. A formal analysis of a hyperdocument may pinpoint problem areas such as small loops and dead-ends.
In order to verify whether you have mastered the different aspects of this topic you should complete a test on navigation in hypertext.