comparative ease of use of a diagrammatic vs an iconic query language

Abstract The importance of designing query systems which are effective and easy to use has been widelyrecognized in the database area. Also, it is well known that the adequacy of a system should be testedagainst actual users in a well monitored experiment. However, very few such experiments have beenconducted. The objective of our study is to measure and understand the comparative ease with whichsubjects can construct queries in two kinds of visual languages, one diagrammatic and the other iconic.More specifically, we are interested in determining if there is significant interaction between: 1) the queryclass and the query language type; and 2) the type of query language and the experience of the user.Experimental results indicate that the effectiveness of a diagrammatic or an iconic query language variesdepending on the classes of queries and the kinds of users. This supports the opinion that an interfaceoffering to the user various visual representations and query modalities is the most appropriate for a wide setof users and applications.Keywords: Human-Computer Interaction; Query Languages; Visual Interfaces; Usability; Experiment

On recognizing and formulating mathematical problems

When mathematics is used to help people cope with real-life situations, a three-stage intellectual process is involved. First, a person becomes aware of a problem-situation which stimulates him to generate a problem-statement, a verbal story-problem. This may be in writing, expressed orally, or merely thought and evidenced by other behavior. Second, he transforms the verbal problem-statement into a mathematical formulation. Third, he analyzes this mathematically stated problem into subproblems to which the solution is more immediate.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43864/1/11251_2004_Article_BF00052419.pd

Comparative Ease of Use of a Diagrammatic Vs. an Iconic Query Language

The importance of designing query systems which are effective and easy to use has been widely recognized in the database area. Also, it is well known that the adequacy of a system should be tested against actual users in a well monitored experiment. However, very few such experiments have been conducted. The objective of our study is to measure and understand the comparative ease with which subjects can construct queries in two kinds of visual languages, one diagrammatic and the other iconic. More specifically, we are interested in determining if there is significant interaction between: 1) the query class and the query language type; and 2) the type of query language and the experience of the user. Experimental results indicate that the effectiveness of a diagrammatic or an iconic query language varies depending on the classes of queries and the kinds of users. This supports the opinion that an interface offering to the user various visual representations and query modalities is the m..