The comparative effectiveness of electric and manual typewriters in the acquisition of typing skill in a Navy radioman school

Abstract

"Experimental (n = 39) and control (n = 40) groups were trained on electric and manual typewriters, respectively, with the experimental groups switching to manual typewriters for the last fourth of the training. Typing proficiency was measured by a series of tests composed of cipher groups. It was found that students trained on manual typewriters performed as well as students trained on electric typewriters. There was considerable positive transfer of training from electric to manual typewriters but direct practice on manual typewriters was preferable." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)