Posted on 04/15/2018 1:34:03 AM PDT by LibWhacker
The largest-ever dataset on typing speeds and styles, based on 136 million keystrokes from 168,000 volunteers, finds that the fastest typists not only make fewer errors, but they often type the next key before the previous one has been released.
Crowdsourcing experiments that allow us to analyse how people interact with computers on a large scale are instrumental for identifying solution principles for the design of next-generation user interfaces.Per Ola Kristensson
The data was collected by researchers from Aalto University in Finland and the University of Cambridge. Volunteers from over 200 countries took the typing test, which is freely available online. Participants were asked to transcribe randomised sentences, and their accuracy and speed were assessed by the researchers.
Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that faster typists make fewer mistakes. However, they also found that the fastest typists also performed between 40 and 70 percent of keystrokes using rollover typing, in which the next key is pressed down before the previous key is lifted. The strategy is well-known in the gaming community but has not been observed in a typing study. The results will be presented later this month at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Montréal.
“Crowdsourcing experiments that allow us to analyse how people interact with computers on a large scale are instrumental for identifying solution principles for the design of next-generation user interfaces,” said study co-author Dr Per Ola Kristensson from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering.
Most of our knowledge of how people type is based on studies from the typewriter era. Now, decades after the typewriter was replaced by computers, people make different types of mistakes. For example, errors where one letter is replaced by another are now more common, whereas in the typewriter era typists often added or omitted characters.
Another difference is that modern users use their hands differently. “Modern keyboards allow us to type keys with different fingers of the same hand with much less force than what was possible with typewriters,” said co-author Anna Feit from Aalto University. “This partially explains why self-taught typists using fewer than ten fingers can be as fast as touch typists, which was probably not the case in the typewriter era.”
The average user in the study typed 52 words per minute, much slower than the professionally trained typists in the 70s and 80s, who typically reached 60-90 words per minute. However, performance varied largely. “The fastest users in our study typed 120 words per minute, which is amazing given that this is a controlled study with randomised phrases,” said co-author Dr Antti Oulasvirta, also from Aalto. “Many informal tests allow users to practice the sentences, resulting in unrealistically high performance.”
The researchers found that users who had previously taken a typing course actually had a similar typing behaviour as those who had never taken such a course, in terms of how fast they type, how they use their hands and the errors they make - even though they use fewer fingers.
The researchers found that users display different typing styles, characterised by how they use their hands and fingers, the use of rollover, tapping speeds, and typing accuracy.
For example, some users could be classified as ‘’careless typists’’ who move their fingers quickly but have to correct many mistakes; and others as attentive error-free typists, who gain speed by moving hands and fingers in parallel, pressing the next key before the first one is released.
It is now possible to classify users’ typing behaviour based on the observed keystroke timings which does not require the storage of the text that users have typed. Such information can be useful for example for spell checkers, or to create new personalised training programmes for typing.
“You do not need to change to the touch typing system if you want to type faster,” said Feit. “A few simple exercises can help you to improve your own typing technique.”
The anonymised dataset is available at the project homepage: http://userinterfaces.aalto.fi/136Mkeystrokes/
Reference:
Dhakal, V., Feit, A., Kristensson, P.O. and Oulasvirta, A. 2018. 'Observations on typing from 136 million keystrokes.' In Proceedings of the 36th ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2018). ACM Press.
Adapted from an Aalto University press release.
The only class I had in high school that was worth anything in life was my typing class.........With that being said, I still have to look at the numbers in order to correctly type them. Arthritis in my fingers has also caused me to make more mistakes these days...
I learned to type on the old lever typewriters, with a bottle of white-out in front of me.........LOL!
My fastest time is 103wpm with no errors. I have extremely long fingers and keep my nails short to keep from overreaching. I was typing 60wmp on an old manual typewriter in high school and when electric typewriters came out I made 103wpm. I went back to college in 2013 and consistently typed 80-90wmp accurately on the computer.
Agreed. They take some getting used to, but once you do, you will realize how bad the conventional keyboard really is.
It is faster. There's the problem though of not being easily able to transition between DSK and QWERTY. A muscle memory thing. And, even though these days changing would be just a matter of changing some software, what do you do about the legends on the keys?
A big factor too, is the entrenchedness of QWERTY.
Typing Of The Dead is a great way to learn.
Your fingers don’t have to be trained differently it’s just placement of hands. I test the ones on display at the big box stores. :) I do love them but for me, very sensitive hearing, HAVE to have quiet keys.
Dvorak keyboards are available. Just not very popular.
Practice.
My mother did some secretarial work and strongly encouraged me to take typing.
I finally relented and took it in summer school.
Interestingly, the science department head discouraged students from taking typing and was actively trying to discontinue the class. His reasoning was “we’d be talking to computers soon” and typing would be an unnecessary skill.
I graduated in 1985 and have been grateful to my mother my entire IT career. Seems the humble secretary knew a lot more than the multi-degreed science teacher.
Never caught on.
Too many people were used to the keyboard as it is.
I have been typing since I was 12 years old, have a gimp right index finger from an accident (dont type with it) still look at the keys and I do very well, thank you..
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.
I was always in awe of people who could hot 100 wpm with few or no mistakes. My mom was in that league.
I think the best I could muster was about 35 wpm in my HS typing class. I wasn’t a very good pianist, either.
Only if you're a quick brown fox.
Exposed the weakness of my left ring finger on my mom’s Royal.
That aside, I'm glad I did take it as I can type reasonably well.
I also took a typing class in high school in the early 70’s.
Me and my buddies sat in the back of the class and typed up the lyrics to Frank Zappa songs during the class most of the time.
The standard German keyboard layout resembles the standard U.S. layout - but the "y" and "z" are transposed (for good reason, too!), and then there are also the "ö," "ä," "ü," and "ß" not found on U.S. keyboards.
(According to Kurt Vonnegut Jr. in "Mother Night," some older German typewriters had additional special symbols like a runic double lightning stroke, for some reason.)
Of course, there is virtually no correspondence between Russian keyboards and U.S. ones.
Regards,
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