Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uwm.edu!uwvax!tank!mimsy!tove.umd.edu!sears
From: sears@tove.umd.edu (Andrew Sears)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: one-finger keyboard
Message-ID: <20050@mimsy.UUCP>
Date: 7 Oct 89 17:24:41 GMT
References: <1989Oct6.221013.8269@agate.berkeley.edu>
Sender: nobody@mimsy.UUCP
Reply-To: sears@tove.umd.edu.UUCP (Andrew Sears)
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science,
Lines: 42

In article <1989Oct6.221013.8269@agate.berkeley.edu> adams@herb-ox.berkeley.edu (Jeffrey P. Adams) writes:
>
>
>I'm working on developing an optimal keyboard (not QWERTY or ABCDE)
>for *one-fingered* typing, and am looking for:
>
>1. general advice.  Does anyone know any good references (human or
>   written)  on the subject?
>
>2. ideas regarding possible uses. (hand-helds, typewriters for
>   handicapped, etc.)
>
>3. information regarding public acceptance of new designs.
>

Actually, there has been a great deal of research into closely related
ideas.  I think the research into which keyboard is best for novices may
be useful (since they usually 'hunt and peck'), as well as research into
the acceptance of various keyboard layouts by people in general.
Some feel that the layout is pretty much irrelavent, while others
feel that alphabetic should be better for novices (who know the alphabet,
but don't know the qwerty layout).  Here are a couple of references that
may help you get started:

Norman, D. and Fisher, D. (1982), Why alphabetic keyboards are not easy
to use: Keyboard layout doesn't much matter, Human Factors, 24, p509-515

Nicolson, R., and Gardner, P. (1985), The QWERTY keyboard hampers 
schoolchildren, British Journal of Psychology, V76, p525-531

Montgomery, E. (1982), Bringing Manual Input into the 20th Century: New
Keyboard Concepts, Computer, March, p11

I'd appreciate it if you would send me a copy of the results of your work.
This could prove very useful for the work I am doing also.

Andy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Sears                            sears@tove.umd.edu
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory   {...}!mimsy!tove.umd.edu!sears
University of Maryland, College Park, MD  20742