Suggestions for usability and design improvements to Search interface:
1. Include some instructional text on how to start. (see comp)
2. Change lake selector to a drop down list and include an All Lakes option. All Lakes is selected by default. This is done implicitly, so why not show it in the interface so that it is clear to the user?
3. Group Parameters by type: Nutrients, Contaminants, Sensor Data, River Discharge, Aquatic Life
4. Style the checkboxes so that they are better, clearer indicators of what is check marked and do away with highlighting the whole row. (see comp)
5. Only highlight co-occurrences if there is nothing already check marked in the group (Parameters, Data Sources)
6. When visualizing the data, group charts by lake first (if showing data for all lakes) and then allow the user to see the charts organized by parameter or by site. (see comp).