Usability testing of chemistry dictionary (ChemDic) developed on Android studio

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and conduct the usability testing for chemical dictionary operated on android device. The dictionary was designed to enable smartphone or tablet users to find terminologies in chemistry easily whenever and wherever. The dictionary named to be ChemDic and the development of UI (User interface) and the coding was conducted using android studio 2.1.3 while the database was constructed using SQLite. The method used in this research was Research and Development which include the process of data analysis, design, development, usability test, revision, and production. Some dependent components were employed in the development including Android Development Tools (ADT), JDK (Java Development kit) and SQLite for database development. In order to ensure the database validity, two printed dictionaries and an online dictionary were referred. In this work, we reported the development process of an android app. Besides, we also conducted usability testing to record the user experiences in three different aspects including ease of use of the app, app appearance and chemistry content knowledge. The research findings revealed that most users found that the application is easy to install, fast response, and it has simple and good user interface. On the other hand some improvements such as text color, interactivity and database of chemical equipment need to be updated.