Assessing subjective workload assessment - A comparison of SWAT and the NASA-bipolar methods

The Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT) and the NASA weighted-bipolar method used for evaluating subjective workload assessment are compared. The application of these methods to the rating of single- and dual-task trials of tracking and spatial transformation is described. The methods used to collect the ratings for the SWAT and bipolar technique are examined. Analysis of the transformation-tracking data reveal that the two assessment techniques produce similar results and both measure the differences in task difficulty. The positive and negative characteristics of each technique are analyzed.