Successful use of a computerized database by end users requires
both an understanding of the structure of the database and knowledge
of the available query language. Previous research has focused
almost exclusively on query languages with little concern for
how database structure is represented. This paper reports on
an experiment that explores the influence of database structure
representation on the ability of users to learn and use a database
system. Four alternative representations of the same databases
are developed and compared. These representations 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 learning of the SQL query language.
We conclude that database representation is an important factor
in database use and that the interaction between a database structure
representation and a query language may dramatically affect database
learning and use.
Key words and phrases: database querying , entity-relationship model , human factors , interface design , relational model , SQL , training