Ummelen, N. (1997). Effects of declarative information on task performance, reasoning and knowledge. In N. Ummelen, Procedural and declarative information on task performance, reasoning and knowledge (pp. 127-148). Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi.

Ummelen, N.

1997

Ummelen, N. (1997). Effects of declarative information on task performance, reasoning and knowledge. In N. Ummelen, Procedural and declarative information on task performance, reasoning and knowledge (pp. 127-148). Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi.

geen

The main focus in this chapter is on the effects of declarative information in software manuals. Subjects in three different user situations worked with a simple and a complex spreadsheet task and a version of the click and read manual that either did or did not contain declarative information. The results of this experiment indicate that declarative information is used spontaneously by users who have a free choice. Those users are not harmed by using declarative information in any way. Users profit from declarative information when they work with the software again on later occassions, and they become better at reasoning about their tasks.

The effects of user situation and task complexity on task performance, reasoning and knowledge are similar to the effects of these variables on information selection and use. In all user situations, the presence of declarative information in the manual appears to have no effect on initial task performance, but it has a positive effect on the delayed task performance, reasoning and factual knowledge.

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