Design Considerations for an On-Screen Keyboard.
Abstract
This study tested & evaluated 3 on-screen keyboard arrangements with indirect input devices. in this study, finger placement & non-finger placement typists provided data for Stimulus Type (word vs. non-words), input Devices (mouse vs. arrow keys), & Keyboard Arrangements (i-row alphabetical, 3-row alphabetical, & QWERTY). Data were collected on two movement tasks & a typing task. in the typing task, the user typed a given Stimulus Type using one of the On- Screen Keyboard Arrangements & input devices. The movement tasks served as controls for movement time in the typing task. The QWERTY keyboard arrangement resulted in the'fastest overall input times & was the most preferred arrangement overall. Analysis of the interaction between input Device & Keyboard Arrangement for the unadjusted typing task times (before removing movement time) showed that when movement time was included, input times for the 1-Row Alphabetical were slower than the QWERTY for the Mouse condition; whereas, within Arrow Key condition, input times for the 1-Row Alphabetical & QWERIY were equivalent. This change in relative performance under the 1- Row Alphabetical arrangement for the Mouse condition can be simply attributed to movement time. After statistically removing the effects of movement time from the typing task, the I-Row Alphabetical arrangement was equivalent to the QWERTY for both input device. Conclusions suggest potential inefficiency of movement control when using the Mouse with the 1-Row Alphabetical arrangement Design which limit vertical movement of the indirect input device could provide more efficient movement time results with the 1-Row arrangement, thereby improving overall performance when using the 1-Row On-Screen Keyboard arrangement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA315208
Entities
People
- Laurie Quill
Organizations
- University of Dayton