Evaluation and Analysis of the Physics InfoMall Field Test Version 3
GERALD H. PILJ
ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
1996

The Physics InfoMall is a CD-ROM library/database of physics related material. The scope of the evaluation included software bugs, software usability, patterns of use and the accomplishment of project goals. Emphasis is placed (1) on the theory of software evaluation, and (2) on using non-parametric statistical methods to analyze correlations of variables from a population which violates normal distribution assumptions. Results show supporting evidence for existing theories of informational search patterns and give additional insights to the effect of database content on search technique. The effect of the InfoMall on high school physics teachers is discussed, and how different subgroups of the population use the database. Additional comment is given on the possible directions of future versions.

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