Cognitive Ergonomics Research Facility, San Diego State University, 6475 Alvarado Road, Suite #132, San Diego, CA 92120, USA (e-mail:smarshall@sciences.sdsu.edu)
This research is part of a multi-year research project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense under the Office of Naval Research. The subjects are U.S. Navy Officers who were undergoing additional training prior to their third tour of duty. Broadly, the research objectives are:
At ECEM, we propose to describe the simulated Command & Control Centre in which we collect data, the cognitive features of the task confronting the officers, and the patterns of officers' eye movements during the task.
Theoretical Perspective -- The underlying theory of tactical decision making is based on schema's, which are structures for storing knowledge in memory. In previous research, we identified four essential types of knowledge that individuals need for good schema's: identification knowledge, elaboration knowledge, planning knowledge, and execution knowledge (Marshall, S. P., 1995, Schemas in Problem Solving, NY: Cambridge University Press). These four types have been studied in tactical situations and found sufficient to describe performance of highly competent teams and performance of relatively naive ones. These findings are the basis for a new assessment tool to evaluate shipboard teams in the future.
Research Setting -- The research was carried out at the Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, RI, USA, as part of a large collaborative experiment under the TADMUS Program. Sixteen teams of officers participated, with each team having six members. The point-of-gaze of one member from each team was tracked using the SMI EyeLink System. Each team went through an initial training program to familiarise them with the displays and then worked through a series of 5 simulations of tactical situations at sea. Each simulation lasted 25 min.
Research Results -- Two main findings will be presented. The first result is the cognitive task analysis of the decision support system used by the officers. The display consists of two innovative screens designed to help officers collect and use vital information. The analysis identifies the schema knowledge embedded in or supported by specific areas of the screens.
The second results are analyses of eye movements and point-of-gaze information recorded as the officers used the screens to make tactical decisions during the simulations. The analyses focus on several critical events that occurred during the simulations to determine which information was most important to the officers during these events and to locate the screen areas where they sought the information.
Significance -- The research demonstrates the feasibility and validity of using eye-tracking systems in real training situations. The findings show how eye-movement data can support the cognitive analysis of a complex task. An added benefit is the recording of screen use over an extended time period; this information provides valuable feedback to designers of the system because it informs them of areas on the screens that are not utilised as they intended.