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Related Experiment Videos

Language and ergonomics.

D E Broadbent1

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, England.

Applied Ergonomics
|March 1, 1977
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Clear machine instructions are crucial for user success. Experiments comparing grammatical forms reveal optimal wording for effective operation and maintenance guidance.

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Area of Science:

  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Technical Communication
  • Usability Engineering

Background:

  • Machine operation and maintenance rely heavily on user instructions.
  • Effective instruction wording significantly impacts user experience and task success.
  • Previous research has not fully explored the impact of specific grammatical forms on instruction clarity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how different grammatical forms in machine instructions affect user comprehension and performance.
  • To identify best practices for wording technical instructions to enhance usability.
  • To provide empirical evidence for optimizing the clarity of user manuals.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of instruction wording using various grammatical structures.

Related Experiment Videos

  • User studies involving machine operation or maintenance tasks.
  • Evaluation of user performance, error rates, and subjective feedback.

    • Main Results:

    • Certain grammatical forms were found to be significantly more effective than others in conveying instructions.
    • Clearer wording led to reduced task completion times and fewer user errors.
    • User preference correlated with instructions that were direct and unambiguous.

    Conclusions:

    • The grammatical construction of machine instructions is a critical factor in usability.
    • Adopting specific, empirically validated wording strategies can improve user adherence and machine maintenance.
    • Further research into linguistic elements of technical documentation is warranted.