The effects of panel arrangement on search performance
This study investigated the effects of panel arrangement on search performance. The three variables of this experiment were panel arrangement, movement distance, and icon size. Participants were asked to search for target items within a four stimulus array which included: round, horizontal, square, and vertical panel arrangements. Four movement distances were used: ?1, ?2, ?4, and ?5. Three icon sizes were examined: 20, 24, and 27mm. Exposure duration was adopted as the dependent factor which was also treated as the within-subjects factor. Notably, this study is concerned with the users icon-clicking distance focusing on two distances, namely, the distance between the start position and the first icon on the panel (P1), and the distance between two icons (P2). Results showed that these three factors of panel arrangement, movement distance, and icon size have caused significant effects on the users search performance regarding the two distances mentioned above. Additionally, no difference with regard to search performance was found between the vertical and horizontal arrangements. The results obtained can form design guidelines which are applicable for future humancomputer interface design.
panel arrangement movement distance icon size user interface