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Dissertation Information for Joan Cherry

NAME:
- Joan Cherry
- (Alias) Joan Margaret Cherry

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Pittsburgh (USA) (1983)

ADVISORS:
- Allen Kent

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- James G. Williams
- Donald Shirey
- Nancy J. Evans
- Thomas Scott Scovel

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: COMMAND LANGUAGES: EFFECTS OF WORD ORDER ON USER PERFORMANCE

Abstract: Commands in a command language usually consist of a verb plus objects(s). A designer must decide which word order will be used: verb-object, or object-verb. Some existing command languages use the verb-object word order, often referred to as prefix notation. Others use the object-verb word order, or postfix notation. The objective of this study was to determine whether one of these notations facilitates user performance.

Two command languages for a text editor were designed. One is based on the natural word order of English, verb-object. The other is based on the reverse word order, object-verb. Sixty subjects, all native speakers of English, were blocked into three groups: novices, experienced subjects who normally used a line editor, and experienced subjects who normally used a screen editor. Subjects were randomly assigned to use one of the command languages. They learned to use the command language by self instruction, then were given 20 minutes to perform a manuscript editing task. The task was deliberately made too long for any subject to finish. Measures of performance used were: % of task completed, % of erroneous commands, and editing efficiency.

A two-way ANOVA was performed on each of the three dependent variables. There were no significant differences in performance between subjects who used the prefix command language and those who used the postfix command language. The novices differed significantly from the experienced subjects on % of task completed and % of erroneous commands, as expected. However, there was no significant difference between the novices and the experienced subjects on the measure of editing efficiency. Variables which were correlated with % of task completed strongly enough to be useful as covariates were: typing speed (all subjects), and contact hours with text editors (experienced subjects). Several possible studies for future research were identified.

MPACT Scores for Joan Cherry

A = 1
C = 12
A+C = 13
T = 1
G = 1
W = 1
TD = 1
TA = 0
calculated 2012-08-19 14:57:29

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