An investigation into qualitative and quantitative factors concerning the use of automatic speech recognition

Abstract

This article describes the findings from a small-scale research project involving 14 test subjects. Experiments were conducted with student nurses and their use of speech recognition technologies. Speech and keyboard were compared as input methods. A hypothesis is put forward and questionnaires and experiments were devised to test the hypothesis. The experiments involved a form of software monitoring, which is discussed. Results from the data analysis of the experiments are included but not the results from the analysis of the questionnaires. During the discussion, summary data from the questionnaires are included. Issues such as usability, error rates and hardware problems are discussed. A brief conclusion considers the future of the keyboard as the predominant computer interface.