Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!hplabs!hpda!hpdslab!hpdsla!garye
From: garye@hpdsla.HP.COM (Gary Ericson)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Wanted: references to computer mouse usage studies
Message-ID: <2690004@hpdsla.HP.COM>
Date: 14 Dec 88 18:34:12 GMT
References: <148@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu>
Organization: HP - Pacific Technology Park
Lines: 36

I'm new to this area, so pardon me if I say something obvious or repeat
something that's been said before.

I read the study in the Int'l Journal of Man-Machine Studies (1986, Vol. 25) 
by Karat, McDonald, and Anderson in which they comared the mouse, touch panel,
and keyboard for menu selection tasks.  Their conclusion was that the touch
panel gave the highest performance of the three and was the most preferred;
the keyboard was second and the mouse was a distant third.

As I recall, they didn't notice any significant differences between male and 
female subjects, and although those who were proficient with the keyboard 
*preferred* the keyboard over the touch panel, they still *performed* better 
with the touch panel over the keyboard.  The authors guessed that the mouse 
required a certain amount of additional coginitive activity (over the touch 
panel) which slowed the subjects down a little.  

This study fueled my feeling that the mouse is a pretty rotten pointing 
device.  It took me a while to get used to the thing, which doesn't surprise me
considering that it requires me to move my hand horizontally to the side of my
body in order to position a cursor vertically directly in front of me.  Reminds
me of trying to trim my beard with scissors in a mirror - I keep turning them 
the wrong way.

Question: Would the menu selection in the study be comparable to the kind of
pointing done in a windows environment?  I would think so, although windows
require more precise movement and selection.

So why haven't we switched to something better like a touch panel?  I guess
because of lack of precision and the difficulty in holding your hand in the
air for extended periods of time.  So how about a direct pointer like a light
pen, but one that is more precise?  Still have to hold it in the air.  So how
about imbedding the monitor in the desk horizontally or near horizontally,
like a drafting table, so I can rest my arm on it?  Hmmm...

Gary Ericson - Hewlett-Packard, Technical Systems Division
               phone: (408)746-5098  mailstop: 101N  email: gary@hpdsla9.hp.com