Comparative study of laptops and touch-screen PCs for searching on the web

Nicolas Debue, Cécile van de Leemput, Anish Pradhan, Robert Atkinson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study compares the use of a laptop versus a touch-screen PC to perform web-based information search tasks. Thirty-six participants took part in a lab-based experiment. They were asked to use either a laptop or a touch-screen PC to seek information on the web and retrieve relevant pieces of information while their sessions were recorded. Cognitive load was measured through eye-related data and cortical activity (EEG) along with a self-reported scale. Main results indicated that participants who used the laptop outperformed those who used the touch-screen PC, with more relevant webpages bookmarked (F = 9.678, p =.004) and more relevant elements retrieved (F = 6.302, p =.018). Participants with the touch-screen PC also spent more time on each webpage than their counterparts (F = 9.2141, p =.005). These results suggest that using the touch-screen PC required more mental effort, which is supported by cognitive load measurements. Linear mixed-model analyses showed significant differences across devices in both pupil size variation (F = 3.692, p =.05) and EEG-based cognitive load index (F = 5.181, p =.028). This study raises issues about whether touch-screen computers are suited for every computing needs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationEngineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics - 15th International Conference, EPCE 2018, Held as Part of HCI International 2018, Proceedings
EditorsDon Harris
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages403-418
Number of pages16
ISBN (Print)9783319911212
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
Event15th International Conference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics, EPCE 2018 Held as Part of HCI International 2018 - Las Vegas, United States
Duration: Jul 15 2018Jul 20 2018

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume10906 LNAI
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Other

Other15th International Conference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics, EPCE 2018 Held as Part of HCI International 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityLas Vegas
Period7/15/187/20/18

Keywords

  • Cognitive load
  • Information search
  • Mobile device
  • Performance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • General Computer Science

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