PROPOSAL FOR

COMPUTING RESEARCH
PROJECT
A study on impact of smartphone touchscreen size in single hand operation based
on the user hand dimension for better usability.

Tutor: Saurav Lamsal

NISCHAL NIRAULA
BTEC HND | III Semester | ISMT
 Proposal for Computing Research Project | 2020

Contents
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................1

1.1 Background Study................................................................................................................1

1.2 Problem Statement................................................................................................................2

1.3 Research Objectives..............................................................................................................4

1.4 Significance of the study......................................................................................................5

1.5 Scope and Limitations of the research..................................................................................5

1.6 Research Questions...............................................................................................................6

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................................7

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................9

3.1 Research Methodology.........................................................................................................9

3.2 Data Collection...................................................................................................................10

3.3 Research Design.................................................................................................................11

3.4 Population and Sampling....................................................................................................11

Chapter 4: TIME SCHEDULE......................................................................................................12

4.1 Gantt Chart...........................................................................................................................13

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION............................................................................................................15

References......................................................................................................................................16

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Study
A smartphone is a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system with advanced computing
capability. Smartphones have now accomplished such a persistent presence in society that users
find it easy to self-organize themselves across large physical areas. Over the years, touchscreen
smartphones have become the de facto devices for our daily usage as these are widely adopted by
people due to its multifunctionality. Nowadays, smartphones with multifunctionality and larger
screen size having various new features integrated in it are becoming more and more popular.
Touch screen technology has been in commercial use since the 1980s but it was not until the
early 2000s that touch screen popularity began to take off in a wider sense. The screen sizes have
been increasing over the past 5-6 years as few years ago Samsung launched its Galaxy Note
series with 5.3-inch touchscreen size, whereas the latest Galaxy Note 10/10+ has 6.3-inch and
6.8-inch touchscreen size respectively. According to a Alex Barredo, smartphones having
touchscreen size around 5-inches were ~10% 3-4 years back, whereas 80% of all the new
smartphones model have screen size more than 5-inches [ CITATION Bar15 \l 1033 ].

Fig: 1.1[a] Evolution of smartphones over the past two decades [ CITATION Pet15 \l 1033 ].

Larger the touchscreen size, the complexity of one-hand operation increases. As smart phones
with touch screens become essential in our daily life, the health issue and the degraded
performance it brings cannot be neglected any more [ CITATION Kor15 \l 1033 ]. If the
smartphones of the users are suitable based on their hand dimension, the operation error and the

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performance may be less compared to the users using large smartphones having small hand
dimensions. Therefore, the handheld device should match the characteristics of the hand shape.

In order to make the input operation more stable, the gripping stability of mobile phone must
also be consideration as well as movement range of operating finger and posture of handhold [7].
Furthermore, most people use thumb to operate the smartphone when they use the smartphone
with single hand. Today touchscreen phones are by far more popular and there is a trend that
smartphones are becoming touchscreen only.

The main purpose of this study will be investigating the relationship between the touchscreen
size of smartphone and the dimension of hand based on certain operation/task provided to the
respondent to participate to evaluate the usability and performance criteria. Since most people
likes to user smartphone with single hand, only one hand operation was considered in this study
i.e., subjects must use dominant hand to handle the phone and user thumb to operate on the
touchscreen.

1.2 Problem Statement

Over the years, smartphones are continuously getting bigger and bigger along with larger screen
sizes compared to our hands which seems to be a problem for people having relatively small
hand dimension compared to others. Most of the people rely on using only thumb while using
smartphones. So, smartphones having larger screen sizes (over 4.5 inches) which are being used
daily can stretch people’s thumbs way past the comfort zone to reach controls positioned at
different area of the smartphone which can be understood from the figures illustrated below:

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Fig: 1.2[a] Thumb zones for touchscreen phones having screen size 4.7-5.3 inches [ CITATION
Pet15 \l 1033 ].

As we can seen in the above figure (Fig: 1.2[a]), the part where our thumb reaches easily is
highlighted as natural, part where our thumbs are slightly stretched is highlighted as stretching
and the part where our thumb finds it hard to reach is labelled as hard. Here the screen size being
only 5 inches, it is easy for people to use their smartphones despite having relatively small hand
dimension. But the usability is quite harder in smartphones having large screen size for people
with small hand dimension.

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Fig: 1.2[b] Thumb zones for touchscreen phones having screen size more than 5.5 inches
[ CITATION Pet15 \l 1033 ].

From Fig: 1.2[b], we can see that the reachability area decreases with increase in touch screen
sizes for bigger smartphones. Here, the easily reachable part shrinks and limits thumb
reachability resulting into large area where thumbs are to be stretched or the holding grip has to
be changed to use it properly. So, a person must always keep in mind that whether it will be
easier for them to use it (smartphone) in a daily basis using one hand grip most of the time or not
depending upon their hand dimension. As results from previous findings of Ewa Gustafsson,
Pieter Coene, Amity Campbell and Leon Straker, suggest that the person using smartphones
having touchscreen size more than 5.5 inches has been associated with musculoskeletal disorders
in the thumb and upper limb. Considering the immense and widespread use of smartphones for
texting in almost all age groups, understanding the best suitable smartphone for one based on
their own hand dimension is important.

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Fig: 1.2[c] Using music player app with a one hand grip.

As an example, I personally encounter this issue daily when listening songs on my music player
app (my phone having screen size = 5.5 inches). The primary control for navigating through
music (which I use frequently) is located in the upper left corner of the screen -arguably the
worst place for one-handed use. To reach it on my smartphone, I had to reset my grip to the
middle of the phone or switch to two-handed use. So, this might be the same case for others too
and there must be a certain solution for this particular problem.

1.3 Research Objectives

The research is related to the single hand operation of smartphones based on the users’ hand
dimension for better usability and experience and its purpose is to outline how screen size affects
the performance in a daily basis depending upon the users’ hand dimension. The objectives for
this research can be stated as follows:

1. To study if touchscreen size really matters while using mobile phones on single hand in
terms of overall experience and better usability.
2. To determine which screen size is suited to people based on their hand dimension.

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The result obtained from this study will be valuable for users who are considering buying a new
smartphone so that they are more concerned about better usability and performance experience
rather than thinking that smartphones with large touchscreen size will be the better option for
them.

1.4 Significance of the study

One of the important considerations that will more often play a decisive role in our selection of a
smartphone is the choice of an appropriate screen size that is conducive to our distinct usage
patterns. As this research is being carried out for understanding the best touchscreen size
smartphones for better usability. This study will surely help people to understand what would be
an ideal smartphone for the daily usage having considerable touchscreen size without
compromising any factors like multimedia usage, entertainment, etc. The results obtained from
this study will contribute to the users/customers health benefit as an ideal smartphone based on
the users’ hand dimension would be easier to use in single hand without being able to stretch
your thumbs more than necessary.

1.5 Scope and Limitations of the research

This study gives emphasis on the single hand usability criteria of a smartphone based on the
touchscreen size and how touchscreen size influences the usability of smartphone for better
experience. Also, this research considers the respondents of the age group 18-24 years old,
people who may use smartphone more in a daily basis but are below or above the given criteria
are not included for this study. The research will be organized/managed in a short period of time
(about 3 months) in a particular location where the respondents are provided with a set of
questionnaires and different interviewing questions will be asked to perform descriptive analysis
of certain criteria which cannot be measure in quantity but rather in a qualitative manner. Due to
limited time period, data samples will be collected from only 40-60 respondents maximum and
not more than that which may result into large collection of data which might be difficult to
analyze in the given time period.

1.6 Research Questions

From the problem statement presented previously in this proposal, following questions are
developed:

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1. How the touchscreen size affects the usability index and experience criteria while using
in a single hand?
2. What is the best suited touchscreen size based on the users’ hand dimension?
3. Does touchscreen size of really matters based on the users’ hand dimension for better
usability?

These are the questions that are raised based on the topic of the study and these questions will be
answered showing definite results backed with the findings obtained after the data are collected,
tabulated and then analyzed.

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

[CITATION Lin \l 1033 ] conducted a research on the topic “The Relationship between
Touchscreen Sizes of Smartphones and Hand Dimensions” in which the study says larger

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touchscreen size is more appropriate to larger hand and palm. Besides, longer operation time is
needed for people who have small hand and palm because they spend more time to move their
thumb and handle the smartphone stably. It is obvious that small hand length category has
poorest operation time and relative poorer thumb fatigue using 4.27-inch screen and above than
other hand length categories.

[ CITATION Rap14 \l 1033 ] found that smartphone users that interact with a device with the
purpose of mainly performing information seeking tasks, such as Internet browsing, will be more
efficient if they use a device with a screen larger than 4.3in. The same is the case for users that
want to mainly use their device to play games, or watch media, as the larger screen size will lead
to higher enjoyment, but with the counter argument that very large screens decrease the
portability of the device and reduce the ability to use the phone with one hand [ CITATION
Ade17 \l 1033 ]. Therefore, a mobile device with a screen size around 4.3in seems to be
beneficial for both cases.

A study on “An Ergonomic Study on Influence of Touch-screen Phone Size on Single hand
Operation Performance”, found that the area size of touch screen has significant influence on
operation performance, what’s more, the complexity of one-hand operation increases along with
the increase of area size. Especially, when the touch-screen size reaches to 150x80 which is
actually around 5.7 inches, only 20% users can operate it with one hand [ CITATION Zhu16 \l
1033 ]. Also, the study suggests the touch-screen area size has significant influence on operation
convenience. In order to improve the convenience degree, the screen size of the mobile phone
should not be larger than 4.7 inches, otherwise, it will bring obstacle. The correlation between
thickness of the mobile phone and comfort is significant, the thicker the mobile phone is, the
more comfortable operation will be.

In another research called, Does size matter? Investigating the impact of mobile phone screen
size on users’ perceived usability, effectiveness and efficiency, researchers found that the screen
size matters for the typical everyday mobile users, since it can have an effect on their efficiency
in many of their everyday information seeking activities and it matters also for practitioners and
researchers as it can influence their design decisions, as well as, the way they conduct mobile
usability evaluations [ CITATION Tra14 \l 1033 ].

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A study conducted in the University of Patras, Greece, shows that the usability index decreases
with increase in touchscreen size in terms of effectiveness but small touchscreen size will have
relatively less efficiency compared to smartphones having larger touchscreen size [ CITATION
Rap14 \l 1033 ].

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Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Methodology

Fig: 3.1 [a] Research Methodology

At the beginning of the research, selecting the topic is a crucial stage. The topic that I selected to
conduct a research on is: “A study on impact of smartphone touchscreen on single hand
operation based on the user hand dimension for better usability”. The objective of this study is to
study if touchscreen size really matters while using mobile phones on single hand in terms of
overall experience and better usability and also to determine which screen size is suited to people

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based on their hand dimension. After selecting the topic for my research, all the previous studies
or research is studied to know what were the findings and what those research papers have to say
on that very topic. These research papers are thoroughly studied to understand all the aspects that
is to be covered by my research and to understand the best approach for my findings in this
research. The very next step after studying and analyzing all the previous studies is to prepare a
proposal for the research where all the ideas for inspecting on a certain topic is explained from
beginning of the research to its end along with its objectives, scope and limitations. Now after
the proposal is completed, identifying a location and the respondent will be the next phase in my
study where I would be taking samples from 40-60 respondents of age group 18-24 years old,
here in Kathmandu. A set of questionnaires will be prepared for collecting data from the mass
along with various open-ended interviewing questions to understand the respondents view
towards the issue. The data collected from the respondent will be tabulated in the Excel
worksheet in order to analyze those data. After the data are analyzed, the findings will be
presented in the final report.

Keeping the time period in mind for the research, limited age group respondents are selected.
This particular age group are basically people above 18 years old, who tends to use their
touchscreen smartphones in a daily basis. The primary research method for the study is by
collecting data from the respondents, who knows how the size of touchscreen matters in terms of
single hand usability and is perfect for their day to day activities. The way of smartphone usage
varies from a person to person, so a questionnaire has to be prepared along with some general
interviewing questions that covers all the aspects there is while using a touchscreen phone based
on single hand operation (i.e. using only one hand). Thus, prepared questionnaires will be
provided to each of the respondents who has to answer all the questions present in the
questionnaire.

3.2 Data Collection

Data will be collected by using the prepared questionnaire which are to be provided to the
respondents. Approval letter to conduct the research and cover letter explaining the purpose of
the very research will be attached to the questionnaire so that the respondents will have a clear
knowledge of what they are contributing to. The questionnaire will be provided to the users using
their smartphones in a day-to-day basis. The questionnaire helps to know the respondent’s

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smartphone usage pattern, what screen size they use, etc. Also, respondents will be interviewed
by asking them various open-ended questions related to the usability experience of their
smartphones based on its touchscreen size to collect data in a broader perspective and understand
more efficiently. The data collected from the questionnaire and interview will be the basic
method of collecting primary data which serves all research objectives.

3.3 Research Design

Both quantitative (data that deal with quantities, values or numbers) and qualitative (deals with
quality, so that they are descriptive) approach will be used to gather data and information that is
required for my study. Several methods were considered but due to the given time frame and the
nature of the study, the best approach that seemed fit was using set of questionnaire and various
interviewing questions. For extracting quantitative data, questionnaire with close-end questions
will be provided to the respondents to answer where data are mainly numerical or quantitative
i.e., measurable in some sort. Also, respondents are asked to complete a simple task of writing a
medium sentence using only their one hand where time is to be calculated for the further
analysis. This experiment will be designed and conducted to measure the effect of screen size on
usability metrics (effectiveness and efficiency) and perceived usability, while interacting with a
test application on various different devices with representative screen sizes. We believe that the
results will help designers and practitioners in better understanding how screen size affects their
subjects, when they design and evaluate mobile applications. Also, for descriptive analysis,
respondents will be asked various open-ended questions in the interview related to the quality
and experience in terms of their smartphone usage. These data collected from the respondents
will be tabulated in an Excel sheet and using Pivot table feature along with various charts, the
data are further analyzed and then the results are be obtained.

3.4 Population and Sampling

Population refers to the respondent participating for the survey in order to collect data. The
respondent for this study (data sampling) includes both male and female. Various users
(respondents) having access to touchscreen smartphones will be selected for the study. Prepared
questionnaires will be distributed along with interviews will be conducted for the sole purpose of
extracting information required for the particular study. Based on the view expressed by the

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respondents, conclusion will be drawn for the study. The respondents are of age group 18-24
years old and have been using smartphones in a daily basis.

Chapter 4: TIME SCHEDULE

For this particular research, time period of the various task that is to be carried out in around
three months is developed which is shown by the Gantt Chart (Fig: 3). This research is based on
considering all the parameters that are to be covered entirely for the particular topic starting
initially after the selection of desired topic. Around 3 months of time has been allocated for
conducting the research which started on 18th December of 2019 and will end at the end of
March 2020. Some of the research phases might be carried concurrently in order to utilize the
given time period for the research itself and make the overall process for various prospects for a
more circumstantial learning experience.

A basic time frame allocated and work division plan developed for the research can be
understood by the following provided table:

S.N Tasks Duratio Starting Date Ending Date

. n
1. Selection of topic based on the theme: 5 days Wed 12/18/19 Tue 12/24/19
“Digital Wellbeing”.
2. Literature Review for the research 10 days Wed 12/25/19 Tue 1/7/20
based on the references of similar
research papers developed by other
researchers.
3. Preparation of Research Proposal. 15 days Wed 1/8/20 Tue 1/28/20
4. Considering targeted respondents. 3 days Wed 4/15/20 Fri 4/17/20
5. Preparing questionnaires and set of 7 days Mon 4/20/20 Tue 4/28/20
interviewing questions for the
identified respondents.
6. Data collection by conducting various 8 days Wed 4/29/20 Fri 5/8/20
surveys based on the prepared
questionnaire and interviews and
analyzing them using MS Excel.
7. Report Writing 12 days Mon 5/11/20 Tue 5/26/20

The Gantt Chart prepared based on the above tasks is shown as follow:

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4.1 Gantt Chart

Fig 4.1[a]: Tasks with the time period required for its completion

Fig 4.1[b]: Time horizon for the respective tasks

Fig 4.1: Gantt Chart for the Research

To select the best possible topic for my research, I have assessed approximately 5 days starting
from 18th of December to 19th of December of 2019. During this timeframe, an appropriate topic
based on the theme of ‘Digital Wellbeing’ is selected. After selecting the topic for my research,
next step is to thoroughly study about the findings and research papers of different authors who

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have previously published their research on the same topic. For studying all those research
papers of different authors, I have assigned around 10 days from 25 th December of 2019 to 7th
January of 2020. After reviewing literatures, I have estimated 15 days for preparing a proposal
for my research beginning from 8th of January to 28th of January.

After the research proposal have been prepared, around 2 months’ time is used as a reference
point where if the proposal isn’t accepted or is faulty in some sort, proper correction has to be
made and resubmitted. And then intended audience/respondents should be identified and a
suitable location is to be set for collecting data from the respondents. For this, I have separated
around 3 days starting from 15 th april to 17th April. After the respondents and the location are
identified and all set, I have assessed around 7 days (20 th April to 28th April) to prepare different
sets of questionnaires and open-ended questions for the interview. After the questionnaires are
prepared along with all the interviewing questions are developed, from 29 th April to 8th May
which is around 8 days have been allocated for collecting data from the respondents and then
analyzing them with helps of MS Excel which is to be presented in the final report. After
collecting data, the next step would be preparing a report for which I have allocated 12 days
starting from 11th of May to 26th of May.

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Chapter 5: CONCLUSION
Hence, a study on the topic of “A study on impact of smartphone touchscreen size in single hand
operation based on the user hand dimension for better usability.” will be conducted by
experimental and practical investigation using different research methods and methodologies.
The main objective of the research is to find whether the touchscreen size really matters while
using mobile phones on single hand in terms of overall experience and better usability and to
determine which screen size is suited best for people based on their hand dimension.

To complete this research around 3 months’ time is required. This study will be
completed as per the stated time period and a research finding will be presented in the final
report after collecting and analyzing all the data that are to be collected using questionnaires and
interviewing various respondents which are within the age group of 18-24 years old.

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References
Adelakun-Adeyemo, O., & Adelaiye, O. (2017). A Comparative Evaluation of the Effectiveness
of Touchscreen and Keypad Input Styles on Mobile Phones. University of Ibadan.

Barredo, A. (2015). A comprehensive look at smartphone screen size statistics and trends.
MEdium.

Gustafsson, E., Coenen, P., Campbell, A., & Straker, L. (2018). Texting with touchscreen and
keypad phones - A comparison of thumb kinematics, upper limb muscle activity, exertion,
discomfort, and performance. Elsevier.

Koroglu, M., Gunal, S., Yildiz, F., Savas, M., Ozer, A., & Altindis, M. (2015). Comparison of
keypads and touch-screen mobile phones/devices as potential risk for microbial
contamination. Turkey: JIDC.

Lin, Y.-C. (2015). The Relationship between Touchscreen Sizes of Smartphones and Hand
Dimensions. Taiwan: Overseas Chinese University.

Pal, P., Roy, A., Moore, G., Muzslay, M., Lee, E., Alder, S., . . . Kelly, J. (2013). Keypad mobile
phones are associated with a significant increased risk of microbial contamination
compared to touch screen phones. UK: JIP.

Palin, K., Feit, A. M., Kim, S., Kristensson, P. O., & Oulasvirta, A. (2019). How do People Type
on Mobile Devices? Taiwan: MOBILEHCI.

Peters, T. (2015, October 26). Designing for Large Screen Smartphones. Retrieved from LukeW
IDEATION + DESIGN: https://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1927

Raptis, D., Tselios, N., Kjeldskov, J., & Skov, M. B. (2014). Does size matter? Investigating the
impact of mobile phone screen size on users’ perceived usability, effectiveness and
efficiency. Patras: Research Gate.

Travis, C., & Murano, P. (2014). A comparative study of the usability of touch-based and mouse-
based interaction. Emerald Insight.

Zhu, R., & Zhongzhe, L. (2016). An Ergonomic Study on Influence of Touch-screen Phone Size
on Singlehand Operation Performance. EDP Sciences.

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