An Experimental Study of a Six Key Handprint Chord Keyboard

This study compared a production chord keypad and a 4x4 numeric keypad for numeric and alphabetic character entry. Of primary interest was the measure of character entry speed gained on each keypad over five days with one half hour practice each day. Results show that within the time constraints of the study, neither keypad superior in terms of speed. Proficiency level gained was compared to the 50% level of average speed demonstrated on the beginning QWERTY typing test. This level was not gained, but the 25% level was reached under all three conditions: numeric keypad with no memory aids and chord keypad with and without memory aids. Use of Mnemonic memory aids increased the number of errors made on the chord keyboard. The 4x4 keypad was found to have significantly less errors than the chord keyboard.