Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

3-2004

Abstract

Users see the database interface as the database system. A good interface enables them to formulate queries better. The semantics communicated through the interface can be classified according to abstraction levels, such as the conceptual and logical levels. With the conceptual interface, interaction is in terms of real-world concepts such as entities, objects and relationships. Current user-database interaction is mainly based on the logical interface, where interaction is in terms of abstract database concepts such as relations and joins. Many researchers argue that end users will perform better with the conceptual interface. This research tested this claim, as well as the effects of query complexity and learning, on the visual query performance of users. The experiment involved three tests: an initial test, a retention test and a relearning test. The results showed that, for complex queries, conceptual interface users achieved higher accuracy, were more confident in their answers, and spent less time on the queries. This is persistent across retention and relearning tests.

Keywords

Data models, query languages, relational database, user interfaces, visual languages

Discipline

Databases and Information Systems

Research Areas

Data Science and Engineering

Publication

IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics Part A: Systems and Humans

Volume

34

Issue

2

First Page

276

Last Page

281

ISSN

1083-4427

Identifier

10.1109/TSMCA.2003.820581

Publisher

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Copyright Owner and License

Publisher

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMCA.2003.820581

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