Description:
A study is presented of a database system interface in which an entity (a concept) and the relationships in which it is involved are displayed to the user; the user is permitted to move about in the database by selecting entities related to the current one displayed. The database system was designed as a personalized database (PDB) for a scientist, student, manager, or anyone who has a need for a fast mechanism for storing and organizing a wide variety of information. The study is exploratory recording baseline times and types of behavior for a variety of personal information management tasks performed by an individual. Data entry, information retrieval, and browsing behavior are examined and contrasted to behavior with more conventional storage media.