• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.193-221
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• 2007

This study explored the efficient hierarchical data structure of mobile interfaces. The first experiment demonstrated the effects of grouping(clear/unclear), depth level(2/3/5), and the number of items(32/64/128) on the search time and the number of errors. The results indicated that participants spent less time and made fewer errors to perform the task when the clear mobile interfaces, low depth level, and fewer items were provided. In addition, the results indicated that there were no effects of the depth level and the number of items on the search time and number of errors in clear mobile interfaces conditions. As depth level and the number of items changed, on the other hand, participants spent longer time to complete the task and made more mistakes in unclear mobile interfaces conditions. The second experiment investigated the effects of grouping(clear/unclear), the number of items(32/64/128), and spacial cues(colors/ windows/ number of cues) on search time and the number of errors in hierarchical data structures which had five depth levels. The results indicated that participants spent less time to complete the task and made less errors in a mobile interface when grouping is clear and the number of items are fewer. The results were identical with the first experiments. In addition, the main effect of spacial cues indicated that providing spacial cues via pictures and numbers can be helpful to reduce errors in search behaviors.