Earcons as a method of providing navigational cues in a menu hierarchy

Stephen Brewster; Veli-Pekka Räty; Atte Kortekangas

doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-3588-3_12

Earcons as a method of providing navigational cues in a menu hierarchy

Stephen Brewster, Veli-Pekka Räty, Atte Kortekangas

University of Glasgow

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

We describe an experiment to discover if structured audio messages, earcons, could provide navigational cues in a menu hierarchy. A hierarchy of 27 nodes and four levels was created with sounds for each node. Participants had to identify their location in the hierarchy by listening to an earcon. Results showed that participants could identify their location with over 80% accuracy, indicating that earcons are a powerful method of communicating hierarchy information. Participants were also tested to see if they could identify where previously unheard earcons would fit in the hierarchy. The results showed that they could do this with over 90% accuracy. These results show that earcons are a robust and extensible method of communicating hierarchy information in sound.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	People and computers XI
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of HCI '96
Editors	Martina Angela Sasse, Jim Cunningham, Russel L. Winder
Publisher	Springer
Pages	169-183
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-4471-3588-3
ISBN (Print)	978-3-540-76069-6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3588-3_12
Publication status	Published - 1996
MoE publication type	A4 Article in a conference publication
Event	HCI '96 Human-Computer Interaction - London, United Kingdom Duration: 20 Aug 1996 → 23 Aug 1996

Conference

Conference	HCI '96 Human-Computer Interaction
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	London
Period	20/08/96 → 23/08/96

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10.1007/978-1-4471-3588-3_12

Cite this

@inproceedings{8fa19a729ca144b2addc144d03faeacd,

title = "Earcons as a method of providing navigational cues in a menu hierarchy",

abstract = "We describe an experiment to discover if structured audio messages, earcons, could provide navigational cues in a menu hierarchy. A hierarchy of 27 nodes and four levels was created with sounds for each node. Participants had to identify their location in the hierarchy by listening to an earcon. Results showed that participants could identify their location with over 80% accuracy, indicating that earcons are a powerful method of communicating hierarchy information. Participants were also tested to see if they could identify where previously unheard earcons would fit in the hierarchy. The results showed that they could do this with over 90% accuracy. These results show that earcons are a robust and extensible method of communicating hierarchy information in sound.",

author = "Stephen Brewster and Veli-Pekka R{\"a}ty and Atte Kortekangas",

year = "1996",

doi = "10.1007/978-1-4471-3588-3_12",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-3-540-76069-6",

pages = "169--183",

editor = "Sasse, {Martina Angela} and Jim Cunningham and Winder, {Russel L.}",

booktitle = "People and computers XI",

publisher = "Springer",

address = "Germany",

note = "HCI '96 Human-Computer Interaction ; Conference date: 20-08-1996 Through 23-08-1996",

}

Earcons as a method of providing navigational cues in a menu hierarchy. / Brewster, Stephen; Räty, Veli-Pekka; Kortekangas, Atte.
People and computers XI: Proceedings of HCI '96. ed. / Martina Angela Sasse; Jim Cunningham; Russel L. Winder. Springer, 1996. p. 169-183.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Earcons as a method of providing navigational cues in a menu hierarchy

AU - Brewster, Stephen

AU - Räty, Veli-Pekka

AU - Kortekangas, Atte

PY - 1996

Y1 - 1996

N2 - We describe an experiment to discover if structured audio messages, earcons, could provide navigational cues in a menu hierarchy. A hierarchy of 27 nodes and four levels was created with sounds for each node. Participants had to identify their location in the hierarchy by listening to an earcon. Results showed that participants could identify their location with over 80% accuracy, indicating that earcons are a powerful method of communicating hierarchy information. Participants were also tested to see if they could identify where previously unheard earcons would fit in the hierarchy. The results showed that they could do this with over 90% accuracy. These results show that earcons are a robust and extensible method of communicating hierarchy information in sound.

AB - We describe an experiment to discover if structured audio messages, earcons, could provide navigational cues in a menu hierarchy. A hierarchy of 27 nodes and four levels was created with sounds for each node. Participants had to identify their location in the hierarchy by listening to an earcon. Results showed that participants could identify their location with over 80% accuracy, indicating that earcons are a powerful method of communicating hierarchy information. Participants were also tested to see if they could identify where previously unheard earcons would fit in the hierarchy. The results showed that they could do this with over 90% accuracy. These results show that earcons are a robust and extensible method of communicating hierarchy information in sound.

U2 - 10.1007/978-1-4471-3588-3_12

DO - 10.1007/978-1-4471-3588-3_12

M3 - Conference article in proceedings

SN - 978-3-540-76069-6

SP - 169

EP - 183

BT - People and computers XI

A2 - Sasse, Martina Angela

A2 - Cunningham, Jim

A2 - Winder, Russel L.

PB - Springer

T2 - HCI '96 Human-Computer Interaction

Y2 - 20 August 1996 through 23 August 1996

ER -

Earcons as a method of providing navigational cues in a menu hierarchy

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