This research examined the effects of three different data base formats on the information retrieval performance of users. Spatial, tabular, and verbal forms of two data base domains (airline and thesaurus) were constructed, along with questions that required users to search through the data base to determine the correct response. Three types of questions, compatible with the forms of the data bases, were designed-spatial, tabular, and verbal. The data indicate that users' responses to the questions are faster and more accurate when the format of the information in the data base matches the type of information needed to answer the question. Although the importance of matching data base format to query type may seem obvious, it would appear that the designers of most current data base systems have not taken this into account.
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