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Speech-Activated versus Mouse-Activated Commands for Word Processing Applications: An Empirical Evaluation
Lewis Karl et al., Unpublished manuscript, University of Maryland (PDF hosted by Ben Shneiderman's site), 1992
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- An empirical study in which participants used speech or the mouse to activate word-processing commands. Speech was faster on average, and people made more memorization errors when using speech.
- How much weight it carries
- A research manuscript dated July 1992 and hosted by a university site, not a peer-reviewed journal copy. It tests speech for activating commands, not for dictating text, and the recognizer is older than any current engine.
Facts taken from this source
- In a 1992 study, performance times for word-processing tasks were significantly faster when speech activated commands, with an average reduction of 18.67 percent in task time.
“On average, the reduction in task time due to using speech was 18.67%.” (Abstract)
- In the 1992 study, participants made significantly more memorization errors when using speech than the mouse to activate commands.
“Subjects made significantly more memorization errors when using speech as compared with the mouse for command activation.” (Abstract)
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