Question: Most keyboards currently used have the keys configured in a standard pattern called the QWERTY arrangements, named for the position of the letters QWERTY on the top row of letters. Developed in 1872, the QWERTY configuration was supposed to force typist to slow down so that their typewriters would jam less often. The Dvorak keyboard was developed in 1936 as a more efficient configuration with keys arranged according to their frequency of use. An article in Discover magazine suggests that you can measure the ease of typing by using this point rating system: Count each letter on the top row of letters as 1, each letter on the "home" row or middle row as 0, and each letter on the bottom row as 2. Using this rating system with each of the 52 words in the Preamble to the Constitution, we get these statistics for each of the keyboard configurations:

QWERTY configuration n=52, x =4.4, s=2.8

Dvorak configuration n=52, x= 1.7, s= 1.8

1. Is there anything about the rating system or the choice of words for the sample that might affect the conclusion about which keyboard configuration is easier to use?
2. Write a brief report of your findings and conclusions.
3. If the Dvorak keyboard configuration is actually easier to use, why is it not being adopted by almost everyone who now uses a keyboard? How might obstacles to adoption of the Dvorak configuration be overcome so that those of us who use keyboards can all become more efficient?

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