Models for hierarchical menu design: Incorporating breadth and depth, task complexity, and knowledge structure of the user
Abstract
The first objective of this dissertation research was to provide a theoretically meaningful link between the three constructs of hierarchical menu design: menu dimension, task complexity, and knowledge structure of the user. The second objective was to develop theoretically based, operational guidelines for the design of computerized menus for a variety of diversified work situations and user populations. To provide a solid foundation for the theoretically based guidelines, four hypotheses have been proposed and tested. Twenty-four subjects were utilized in a nested factorial experiment. The dependent variables were time to respond and errors committed. The independent variables were menu dimension, task complexity, and user knowledge structure. The foundation of Hypotheses One through Four was based upon the theory which indicated that when task complexity is low, the short-term memory requirements are low, and the level of abstraction of the user's knowledge structure will not impact performance because it is not required for the chunking of visual information. Hypothesis One stated that in a low depth menu, with a low complexity task, knowledge structure will not impact performance. Hypothesis Two stated that in a high depth menu, with a low complexity task, knowledge structure will not impact performance. Hypothesis Three stated that in a high depth menu, with a high complexity task, knowledge structure will impact performance. Hypothesis Four stated that in a low depth menu, with a high complexity task, knowledge structure will impact performance. Hypotheses One, Three, and Four were supported. Hypothesis Two was supported in terms of errors only. Moreover, this research determined that the capability to discriminate between concepts in a domain produced the differences in performance. There was no evidence of manipulation of abstraction. A theoretically meaningful link between the three constructs of hierarchical menu design was identified. In addition, theoretically based, operational guidelines for the design of computerized menus for a variety of diversified work situations and user populations were developed. In this context, the information processing model for psychomotor tasks (Salvendy and Knight, 1982) has been modified to include three constructs: menu dimension, task complexity, and knowledge structure.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Salvendy, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Industrial engineering|Computer science
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