The effects of normalisation on data input satisfaction of novice end-users

This paper reports the results of an experiment that investigated the effects different structural characteristics of relational databases have on end-user information satisfaction. The results show that repeating fields and lack of atomicity adversely affect user satisfaction. The results also show that increased fragmentation resulting from higher levels of normalisation significantly improves user satisfaction. Overall the results suggest that higher levels of normalisation reduce task complexity when entering data into databases. This reduction in task complexity culminates in greater end-user satisfaction. The study contributes to the further development of theories of individual adjustment to information technology in the workplace by alerting organisations and database designers to the effects of structural characteristics of relational databases on data input satisfaction of end-users. These issues are of increasing importance because of growth in end-user design and maintenance of their own databases