A cognitive model of database querying: a tool for novice instruction
Mark S. Schlager, William C. Ogden · ACM SIGCHI Bulletin · 1986
Two experiments examine the effects of incorporating user knowledge into the design of training materials for a database querying system. In Experiment 1 an informal cognitive model of a query language is derived from the verbal reports of expert users, and incorporated into existing documentation. Two groups of subjects were then asked to solve queries using either the revised or original manual. In Experiment 2 the cognitive model was formalized to explicitly describe the conceptual and procedural information that was incorporated into training materials. Three groups of subjects then received either a conceptual model, procedural model, or neither in addition to basic instructions, and then solved four sets of queries. The results show that whether or not a given type of information facilitates performance depends on the type of query, and whether the model is consistent with the operation of the query system.