Subjects in Human Factors

Abstract

Humans are the “raison d'etre” for human factors, yet what do we really know about the characteristics of those who serve as our subjects and on whom our science is built What do we need to know? Most authors gloss over the topic briefly and tersely describe the subjects as “10 male and 10 female college age students.” The articles then move onto what many consider to be the real action: the experimental design, test procedures, and statistical analysis. A conclusion is reached and generalized to the population. When is this appropriate/inappropriate? What population do the subjects (Ss) represent? what are the characteristics of our current Ss? Are subject differences even relevant What, if anything, can be gained by examining subject by condition interactions? What techniques do we have which will allow us to go beyond performance data, and examine the subjects cognitive processes? What changes can we expect to see in the worker/user population which should influence our subject selection strategies? The four papers presented in this symposium will address these issues, provide some answers, and certainly raise some questions.