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What kind of minimal instruction manual is the most effective

Authors:

John B. Black,

John M. Carroll,

Stuart M. McGuiganAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '87: Proceedings of the SIGCHI/GI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems and Graphics Interface

Pages 159 - 162

https://doi.org/10.1145/29933.275623

Published: 01 May 1986 Publication History

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Abstract

An empirical study examined the effectiveness of four different versions of a self-instruction manual for a word processing system: a Skeletal version that explicitly states only the essential information, an Inferential version that has the users infer some of the essential information, a Rehearsal version that is like the Skeletal manual, but adds opportunities to rehearse the explicitly stated information, and a Lengthy version that adds nonessential explanatory and descriptive information to the Skeletal version. The best learning performance was obtained with the inferential approach, particularly for more realistic tasks.

References

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Anderson, J.R. (19883) The Architecture of Cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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Carroll, J.M. (1984) Minimalistic training. Datamati0n, 30, 125-136.

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Carroll, J.M., Mack, R.L., Lewis, C.H., Grischkowsky, N.L. and Robertson, S.P. (1985) Exploring a word processor. Human Comouter Interaction, 1,283-307.

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Galambos, J.A., Sebrechts, M., Wikler, E. and Black, J.B (1984) A diagrammatic language for instruction of a menu-based word processing system. In S. Williams (Ed.) Human8 and Mochines: The Interface Thr h L . Norwood, NJ: Ablix.

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Cited By

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Cunningham KEricson BAgrawal Bejarano RGuzdial MKitamura YQuigley AIsbister KIgarashi TBjørn PDrucker S(2021)Avoiding the Turing Tarpit: Learning Conversational Programming by Starting from Code’s PurposeProceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3411764.3445571(1-15)Online publication date: 6-May-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3411764.3445571
Kulgemeyer CBorowski ABuschhüter DEnkrott PKempin MReinhold PRiese JSchecker HSchröder JVogelsang C(2020) Professional knowledge affects action‐related skills: The development of preservice physics teachers' explaining skills during a field experience Journal of Research in Science Teaching10.1002/tea.2163257:10(1554-1582)Online publication date: 18-May-2020
https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21632
Kulgemeyer C(2019)Towards a framework for effective instructional explanations in science teachingStudies in Science Education10.1080/03057267.2018.159805454:2(109-139)Online publication date: 15-Apr-2019
https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2018.1598054
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Index Terms

What kind of minimal instruction manual is the most effective
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
2. Software and its engineering
  1. Software creation and management
    1. Software post-development issues
      1. Documentation

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What kind of minimal instruction manual is the most effective

An empirical study examined the effectiveness of four different versions of a self-instruction manual for a word processing system: a Skeletal version that explicitly states only the essential information, an Inferential version that has the users infer ...
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Information

Published In

CHI '87: Proceedings of the SIGCHI/GI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems and Graphics Interface

May 1987

344 pages

ISBN:0897912136

DOI:10.1145/29933

ACM SIGCHI Bulletin Volume 18, Issue 4
April 1987
319 pages
ISSN:0736-6906
DOI:10.1145/1165387
Issue’s Table of Contents
ACM SIGCHI Bulletin Volume 17, Issue SI
May 1987
319 pages
ISSN:0736-6906
DOI:10.1145/30851
Editors:
John M. Carroll,
Peter P. Tanner
Issue’s Table of Contents

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 May 1986

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CHI/GI87

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SIGCHI

CHI/GI87: CHI/GI 1987 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems and Graphics Interface

April 5 - 9, 1987

Ontario, Toronto, Canada

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CHI '87 Paper Acceptance Rate 46 of 166 submissions, 28%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 6,199 of 26,314 submissions, 24%

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Cited By

View all

Cunningham KEricson BAgrawal Bejarano RGuzdial MKitamura YQuigley AIsbister KIgarashi TBjørn PDrucker S(2021)Avoiding the Turing Tarpit: Learning Conversational Programming by Starting from Code’s PurposeProceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3411764.3445571(1-15)Online publication date: 6-May-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3411764.3445571
Kulgemeyer CBorowski ABuschhüter DEnkrott PKempin MReinhold PRiese JSchecker HSchröder JVogelsang C(2020) Professional knowledge affects action‐related skills: The development of preservice physics teachers' explaining skills during a field experience Journal of Research in Science Teaching10.1002/tea.2163257:10(1554-1582)Online publication date: 18-May-2020
https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21632
Kulgemeyer C(2019)Towards a framework for effective instructional explanations in science teachingStudies in Science Education10.1080/03057267.2018.159805454:2(109-139)Online publication date: 15-Apr-2019
https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2018.1598054
Bennett DStephens P(2009)A cognitive walkthrough of Autopsy Forensic BrowserInformation Management & Computer Security10.1108/0968522091094473117:1(20-29)Online publication date: 20-Mar-2009
https://doi.org/10.1108/09685220910944731
Vanasse S(2008)Minimal Manual and On-line Examples for Learning How to Use Interface Construction ToolkitsPerformance Improvement Quarterly10.1111/j.1937-8327.1994.tb00618.x7:1(80-96)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2008
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-8327.1994.tb00618.x
Huang JTwidale MShen CJacob RBalakrishnan R(2007)GraphstractProceedings of the 20th annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology10.1145/1294211.1294248(203-212)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2007
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1294211.1294248
Heiser JPhan DAgrawala MTversky BHanrahan PCostabile M(2004)Identification and validation of cognitive design principles for automated generation of assembly instructionsProceedings of the working conference on Advanced visual interfaces10.1145/989863.989917(311-319)Online publication date: 25-May-2004
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/989863.989917
Song GSalvendy G(2003)Effectiveness of automatic and expert generated narrative and guided instructions for task-oriented web browsingInternational Journal of Human-Computer Studies10.1016/S1071-5819(03)00119-859:6(777-795)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2003
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/S1071-5819%2803%2900119-8
Gallivan MPrasad JNance W(2000)Examining workgroup influence on technology usageProceedings of the 2000 ACM SIGCPR conference on Computer personnel research10.1145/333334.333356(54-66)Online publication date: 6-Apr-2000
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Wiedenbeck SZila P(1997)Hands-on practice in learning to use softwareACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/254945.2549674:2(169-196)Online publication date: 15-Jun-1997
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/254945.254967
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What kind of minimal instruction manual is the most effective

What kind of minimal instruction manual is the most effective

Show or Tell? A Comparison of Direct Instruction Tutorial and Learn By Doing Increased Impasse Versions of Initial Levels of a Puzzle Game