Paper Info
Title
Interacting with notebook input devices: an analysis of motor performance and users' expertise.
Abstract
In the present study the usability of two different types of notebook input devices was examined. The independent variables were input device (touchpad vs. mini-joystick) and user expertise (expert vs. novice state). There were 30 participants, of whom 15 were touchpad experts and the other 15 were mini-joystick experts. The experimental tasks were a point-click task (Experiment 1) and a point-drag-drop task (Experiment 2). Dependent variables were the time and accuracy of cursor control. To assess carryover effects, we had the participants complete both experiments, using not only the input device for which they were experts but also the device for which they were novices. Results showed the touchpad performance to be clearly superior to mini-joystick performance. Overall, experts showed better performance than did novices. The significant interaction of input device and expertise showed that the use of an unknown device is difficult, but only for touchpad experts, who were remarkably slower and less accurate when using a mini-joystick. Actual and potential applications of this research include an evaluation of current notebook input devices. The outcomes allow ergonomic guidelines to be derived for optimized usage and design of the mini-joystick and touchpad devices.
Year
DOI
Venue
2005
10.1518/0018720053653893
HUMAN FACTORS
Keywords
Field
DocType
input device
Simulation,Computer science,Usability,Human–computer interaction,Variables,Touchpad,Cognition,Input device,Cursor (user interface)
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
47
1
0018-7208
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
9
0.84
6
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Christine Sutter1132.69
Martina Ziefle21176135.05