9117084 Soloway, E. This is the third year funding of a three-year continuing award. The "human-computer interface" is paramount if scientists are to take full advantage of the vast quantities and types of data now becoming available. Attention needs to be focused on more than the query language; rather, the interface needs to integrate scientific databases into the everyday work practices of scientists, e.g., data exploring, hypothesis generating and testing, report and chart making. The Task/Artifact Methodology is being employed; it consists of cycles of cognitive task analysis, system building, and testing in ecologically valid contexts, e.g., practicing scientists using the system on a daily basis. The resultant computer-based environment, ReV (Representations for Visualization) is user- and task-centered, as opposed to being technology-driven. ReV serves as the scientist's "notebook" permitting him/her to move among databases, hypotheses, reports, charts, etc. ReV is being designed for scientists in nuclear engineering and for scientists engaged in global change research. As computers become integral to the moment- by-moment work practices of scientists, well-designed tools become critical. This project, then, serves as a model for how scientist- centered computing environments can be developed and deployed.
