Today@Dal

We are recruiting participants to take part in a research study examining the efficiency and effectiveness of using a Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, (i.e. a wireless communication technology to transfer data between devices in a small distance) to lower the risk of medication dispensing errors. We are looking for participants who are part of the wider Dalhousie University community, including students, staff/faculty, and friends. In this study, we aim to exam the effectiveness of using such technology to securely transfer confidential information, so as to maintain the privacy of pharmacy customers while enabling pharmacies to more accurately dispense medications. You will be asked to apply a set of 4 tasks in total. Two of the tasks will be using the traditional method of processing a prescription of transferring information to the pharmacy and the other two tasks will be using the smartphone application using NFC technology. Also, after each set of tasks, you will fill out a postcondition questionnaire (i.e. two in total after each set of tasks) to evaluate the method used to transfer the information. Then, you will fill out a post-session questionnaire to investigate more usability measures such as ease of use, learnability, satisfaction, and usefulness. Lastly, a short semi-structured interview will be conducted to show the strengths and weaknesses of both systems. If you visited a drugstore or use a drugstore application to pick up prescriptions for yourself, you are eligible to participate in this study. You will complete the experiments on the researcher’s devices; thus, you do not need to bring your own devices. I am looking for participants who are part of the general Dalhousie University community or public including students, staff/faculty, and friends.

If you agree to participate, please contact Bader Aldughayfiq (bd256851@dal.ca) to sign up for the study. When contacting the main researcher Bader Aldughayfiq, you will be contacted to explain the study in detail and a copy of the consent form. The signing of the consent form will be upon the meeting with the lead researcher.

The study will be conducted in one of the meeting rooms, located in the Goldberg Computer Science building (Dalhousie campus building) or the Dalhousie libraries. You will first meet with the researcher to go over the study details and give consent to participate in this study. Your comments or feedback will be audio and screen recorded. The session will take 40-70 minutes to complete. You will be compensated $10 for your participation in the study.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Bader Aldughayfiq (bd256851@dal.ca)