Authors: Salvatore T. March
Tags: 1996, conceptual modeling, ROBERT L. LEITHEISER
Successfiil use of a computerized database by end users requires both an understanding of the structure of tbe database and knowledge of the available query language. Previous research has focused almost exclusively on query lan- guages with little concem for how database structure is represented. This paper reports on an experiment that explores the influence of database structure repre- sentation on the ability of users to leam and use a database system. Four altemative representations of the same databases are developed and compared. These repre- sentations differ in semantics, symbols, and means of representing relationships. Interestingly, representation features that aid in communicating the contents of a database appear to hinder the leaming of the SQL query language. We conclude tbat database representation is an important factor in database use and tbat the interaetion between a database structure representation and a query language may dramatically affect database leaming and use.Read the full paper here: https://www.jmis-web.org/issues
