Human Factors Experiment Upon Learning SQL: An Evaluation of the Roles of Conceptual Model and Computer Interface

Since SQL has been accepted as an ANSI standard, how to help SQL users to learn and use the language becomes an important issue for both vendors and training providers. At the Same time, with the growing concem for making DBMS easier to leani and use, the vendors have also used tabular interfaces in their product, such as QBE-like language. Tabular interfacesusetwodimensionaltable-likequalitiesofrelationalsystemsasanaidinquerywriting. Thistrendhasledtoan interestingresearchquestion: “Whenusertrainingisconducted,willthistabular-likeinterfacehelpuserstolearnanduse SQL?” Assimilation Theory suggests that meaningful learning can occur only if all three conditions, Reception, Availability and Assimilation, are met (Davis and Bostrom 1993). This theory provides a basis for understanding why a given type of interfacemaybemoreeffectivethananotherintraining. Italsosuggests?hatinordertoachievemeaningfullearning,the cues must be provided to help learners to retrieve appropriate existing concepts