Abstract
Touchscreen computers are a rapidly growing sector of the personal computer market and seem to be particularly suitable for older users. However, research has highlighted usability problems with the interaction techniques deployed on these devices for older users. A study was conducted with 12 older users of number entry tasks on a tablet and a PC, comparing three interaction techniques: keypad, plus/minus buttons and number selector (picker on the tablet, pull down menu on the PC). There were no differences in time to enter numbers between the devices, but buttons were fastest and number selectors slowest. Mental workload was also significantly higher with number selectors compared to either buttons or keypad. Older users had a complex pattern of preferences, but overall favoured the keypad for number entry and disliked the picker.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Apple Inc., Human Interface Guidelines. https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/userexperience/conceptual/mobilehig/
Pew Research Center, Technology Use Among Seniors. http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/05/17/technology-use-among-seniors/
Of com, Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes Report. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/113222/Adults-Media-Use-and-Attitudes-Report-2018.pdf
Deloitte, Mobile Consumer Survey 2017 The Australian Cut. https://www2.deloitte.com/au/mobile-consumer-survey?elq_mid=&elq_cid=22689&utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=lp&utm_campaign=tmt-mobile-consumer-survey-2017&utm_content=body&elqTrackId=7018efb652d84958aef44087c37dcfb6&elqaid=180&elqat=2
Research New Zealand: A Report on a Survey of New Zealanders’ Use of Smartphones and other Mobile Communication Devices (2015). http://www.researchnz.com/pdf/Special%20Reports/Research%20New%20Zealand%20Special%20Report%20-%20Use%20of%20Smartphones.pdf
Barnard, Y., Bradley, M.D., Hodgson, F., Lloyd, A.D.: Learning to use new technologies by older adults: perceived difficulties, experimentation behaviour and usability. Comput. Hum. Behav. 29(4), 1715–1724 (2013)
Culén, A.L., Bratteteig, T.: Touch-screens and elderly users: a perfect match. Changes 7, 15 (2013)
Jayroe, T.J., Wolfram, D.: Internet searching, tablet technology and older adults. Proc. Am. Soc. Inform. Sci. Technol. 49(1), 1–3 (2012)
Quan-Haase, A., Martin, K., Schreurs, K.: Interviews with digital seniors: ICT use in the context of everyday life. Inform. Commun. Soc. 19(5), 691–707 (2016)
Tsai, H.Y.S., Shillair, R., Cotten, S.R., Winstead, V., Yost, E.: Getting grandma online: are tablets the answer for increasing digital inclusion for older adults in the US? Educ. Gerontol. 41(10), 695–709 (2015)
Werner, F., Werner, K., Oberzaucher, J.: Tablets for seniors – an evaluation of a current model (iPad). In: Wichert, R., Eberhardt, B. (eds.) Ambient Assisted Living. ATSC, pp. 177–184. Springer, Heidelberg (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27491-6_13
Wright, P.: Digital tablet issues for older adults’. Gerontechnology 13(2), 306 (2014)
Czaja, S.J., Sharit, J., Nair, S., Rubert, M.: Understanding sources of user variability in computer-based data entry performance. Behav. Inform. Technol. 17(5), 282–293 (1998)
Czaja, S.J., Guerrier, J.H., Nair, S.N., Landauer, T.K.: Computer communication as an aid to independence for older adults’. Behav. Inform. Technol. 12(4), 197–207 (1993)
Siek, K.A., Rogers, Y., Connelly, K.H.: Fat finger worries: how older and younger users physically interact with PDAs. In: Costabile, M.F., Paternò, F. (eds.) INTERACT 2005. LNCS, vol. 3585, pp. 267–280. Springer, Heidelberg (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/11555261_24
Smith, M.W., Sharit, J., Czaja, S.J.: Aging, motor control, and the performance of computer mouse tasks. Hum. Factors: J. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. 41(3), 389–396 (1999)
Hourcade, J.P., Nguyen, C.M., Perry, K.B., Denburg, N.L.: Pointassist for older adults: analyzing sub-movement characteristics to aid in pointing tasks. In: Proceeding of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1115–1124(2010)
Moffatt, K., McGrenere, J.: Steadied-bubbles: combining techniques to address pen-based pointing errors for younger and older adults’. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1125–1134 (2010)
Wacharamanotham, C., Hurtmanns, J., Mertens, A., Kronenbuerger, M., Schlick, C., Borchers, J.: Evaluating swabbing: a touchscreen input method for elderly users with tremor. In: Proceeding of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 623–626 (2011)
Chung, M.K., Kim, D., Na, S., Lee, D.: Usability evaluation of numeric entry tasks on keypad type and age. Int. J. Ind. Ergon. 40(1), 97–105 (2010)
Findlater, L., Froehlich, J.E., Fattal, K., Wobbrock, J.O., Dastyar, T.: Age-related differences in performance with touchscreens compared to traditional mouse input. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 343–346 (2013)
Jochems, N., Vetter, S., Schlick, C.: A comparative study of information input devices for aging computer users. Behav. Inform. Technol. 32(9), 902–919 (2013)
Kobayashi, M., Hiyama, A., Miura, T., Asakawa, C., Hirose, M., Ifukube, T.: Elderly user evaluation of mobile touchscreen interactions. In: Campos, P., Graham, N., Jorge, J., Nunes, N., Palanque, P., Winckler, M. (eds.) INTERACT 2011. LNCS, vol. 6946, pp. 83–99. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23774-4_9
Piper, A.M., Campbell, R., Hollan, J.D.: Exploring the accessibility and appeal of surface computing for older adult health care support. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 907–916 (2010
Snodgrass, J.G., Levy-Berger, G., Haydon, M.: Human experimental Psychology, vol. 395. Oxford University Press, New York (1985)
Wood, E., Willoughby, T., Rushing, A., Bechtel, L., Gilbert, J.: Use of computer input devices by older adults. J. Appl. Gerontol. 24(5), 419–438 (2005)
Rau, P.L.P., Hsu, J.W.: Interaction devices and web design for novice older users. Educ. Gerontol. 31(1), 19–40 (2005)
Zhou, J., Rau, P.L.P., Salvendy, G.: Older adults’ text entry on smart phones and tablets: investigating effects of display size and input method on acceptance and performance. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 30(9), 727–739 (2014)
Stößel, C., Blessing, L.: Mobile device interaction gestures for older users. In: Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Extending Boundaries, pp. 793–796 (2010)
Hart, S.G., Staveland, L.E.: Development of NASA-TLX (task load index): results of empirical and theoretical research. Adv. Psychol. 52, 139–183 (1988)
Howell, D.C.: Statistical Methods for Psychology. Cengage Learning, Boston (2009)
Snijders, T.A., Bosker, R.: Multilevel Analysis: An Introduction to Basic and Applied Multilevel Analysis. Sage, London (1999)
Cabreira, A.T., Hwang, F.: Evaluating the effects of feedback type on older adults’ performance in mid-air pointing and target selection. In: Proceedings of the Symposium on Spatial User Interaction, pp. 111–119. ACM (2018)
Acknowledgements
This study was part of the first author’s PhD research programme. We would like to thank all our participants for their time and effort to take part in the study. The first author would like to acknowledge funding support from Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA). A special thank you to Universiti Malaysia Sabah, the first author’s current workplace, for providing the funding to attend the 6th International Visual Informatics Conference.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Abdullah Sani, Z.H., Petrie, H. (2019). Older Adults’ Number Entry Using Touchscreen and Keyboard-Mouse Computers. In: Badioze Zaman, H., et al. Advances in Visual Informatics. IVIC 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11870. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34032-2_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34032-2_32
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-34031-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-34032-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)