ASSESSING COGNITIVE STRAIN IN EMPLOYEES WORKING WITH LARGE-SCALE DIGITAL ARCHIVAL REPOSITORIES

Abstract

The increasing complexity of digital archival repositories and the proliferation of content written in a digital format have placed considerable cognitive strain on staff who play a role in the management, identification, retrieval, and preservation of that content. This research project explored three forms of cognitive strain through the use of a mixed-methods approach using psychometric measures, visual representations of the complexity of tasks, and observational ergonomics. Participants, particularly metadata curators, digital preservation specialists, and access coordinators, experienced considerable cognitive strain in the form of cognitive fatigue, decision overload, and stress from task switching. The paper discusses how an interface design, workflow automation, and digital literacy can help mitigate, or exacerbate cognitive load. By identifying workplace predictors of cognitive strain, and associating work roles and number of system interactions this study offers solutions to improve the redesign of digital archival environments. The proposed intervention model includes role-based simplifications of interfaces, task reallocation depending on cognitive task load, and monitoring of cognitive strain experienced by staff to enhance the experiences of employees and improve the efficiency of information systems in archives.