Presented at the Western Academy of Management,
Sante Fe, NM,
March 1994

by C.J. Kacmar, R.S. Renner*, and J.Carey

Experimental management systems allow researchers to administer surveys, questionnaires, and other examination instruments electronically and to collect data during the measurement procedure. Traditionally, these systems have met the needs of specific problem domains rather than being general tools which can be used across a wide variety of research areas. Some of the major limitations include lack of flexibility in controlling the order of items in the questionnaire, inability to vary the content of questions relative to individuals, and dependency on proprietary data formats for collecting and analyzing experimental results.

The present paper discusses the design and implementation of a system which is based on a new computing technology - hypertext - as the underlying data and process model for the measuring instrument. The research will show that hypertext provides researchers with several advantages over previous technologies. Among other things, hypertext provides greater flexibility in designing the measuring instrument and controlling the visibility of questions while the instrument is being administered.