Critique of Methods Employed in Human Factors Research on VDTs

This report summarizes a review of human factors research on VDTs. The main areas of interest included workstation design, character and display design, work organization, lighting and reflectance, and visual discomfort. Experimental studies were critically reviewed for the soundness of their methodologies and conclusions. In many of the studies, there were problems of interpreting the results due to careless oversights on the part of the researcher(s), for example, the inappropriate selection of subjects or lack of a control group. Due to different subject selection strategies and different VDT parameters, the integration and generalization of research results is difficult.

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Development of a human factors research laboratory for off-road vehicle operator workstation design

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e573942012-020 ◽

1982 ◽

Author(s):

J. R. Duncan ◽

E. L. Wegscheid

Keyword(s):

Human Factors ◽

Research Laboratory ◽

Road Vehicle ◽

Workstation Design ◽

Human Factors Research

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Bridging the Research/Practice Gap: Human Factors Practitioners' Opportunity for Input to Define Research for the Rest of the Decade

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193129604001706 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 40 (17) ◽

pp. 865-867

Author(s):

Paula Sind-Prunier

Keyword(s):

Human Factors ◽

Annual Meeting ◽

National Research Council ◽

Professional Community ◽

Research Needs ◽

Research Practice ◽

Detailed List ◽

Practice Gap ◽

Areas Of Interest ◽

Human Factors Research

The purpose of this session(s) is to attempt a novel forum for bridging the researcher/practitioner dichotomy that divides the human factors professional community. The objective of this session(s) is to convene a group of attendees to formulate a detailed list of critical human factors research needs. Attendees will suggest and discuss critical needs they have for human factors data, research, and analyses. The purpose of discussion will be to embellish and clarify initial suggestions, rather than to limit or discourage specific suggestions. This is not a forum for researchers to discuss their work, but rather a forum for practitioners to discuss their current work and the informational needs that serve as barriers to their effectiveness. Individual Technical Groups co-sponsored component discussions as a means for targeting their application areas of interest. The Strategic Planning Focus Groups held at the 1995 Annual Meeting served as the model for interaction among attendees. A publication will be produced following the Annual Meeting which identifies critical human factors research needs, based on direct input from industry practitioners– the direct consumers of such research. As such, it differs from similar publications extant (e.g., those of the National Research Council) which are driven by researchers' perceptions of research needs. By using the interactive “focus group” format that was so successful at the 1995 Annual Meeting, it is anticipated that this session will be able to make great strides toward bridging the research/practice gap that currently exists in the human factors profession.

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Subjects in Human Factors

Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193129203601609 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 36 (16) ◽

pp. 1225-1226 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

William F. Moroney

Keyword(s):

Statistical Analysis ◽

Experimental Design ◽

Human Factors ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Test Procedures ◽

College Age ◽

Subject Selection ◽

Selection Strategies ◽

Real Action ◽

Subject Differences

Humans are the “raison d'etre” for human factors, yet what do we really know about the characteristics of those who serve as our subjects and on whom our science is built What do we need to know? Most authors gloss over the topic briefly and tersely describe the subjects as “10 male and 10 female college age students.” The articles then move onto what many consider to be the real action: the experimental design, test procedures, and statistical analysis. A conclusion is reached and generalized to the population. When is this appropriate/inappropriate? What population do the subjects (Ss) represent? what are the characteristics of our current Ss? Are subject differences even relevant What, if anything, can be gained by examining subject by condition interactions? What techniques do we have which will allow us to go beyond performance data, and examine the subjects cognitive processes? What changes can we expect to see in the worker/user population which should influence our subject selection strategies? The four papers presented in this symposium will address these issues, provide some answers, and certainly raise some questions.

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