Online Data Modeling to Improve Students’ Learning of Conceptual Data Modeling

Traditionally, IS/IT educators teach data modeling by using top-down approach that starts from business rules, entity-relationship (E-R) diagram then normalization and ends with normalized E-R diagram. Another approach is bottom-up that analyzes business documents and then develop a data model. A laboratory study will be conducted that employed IS/IT students (novice designers) to compare the effectiveness of the two design approaches (between subjects) at three levels of task complexity (within subjects). The research design includes the conceptual framework, experimental design and sample tasks. Both design approaches will be covered in the three sections of Systems Analysis and Design course but with different sequence to eliminate bias