Developing an observational instrument to evaluate personal computer keyboarding style.

While computer use is considered to be a risk factor for musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity (MSD-UE), there is currently little information on how the fingers, hand and thumb are used during keyboarding, and no means to document their postures and motions. A computer keyboarding observational instrument, termed the Personal Computer Keyboarding Style (PeCKS), is being developed to meet this need. The goal of this paper is to describe the process by which the PeCKS was developed. Literature on MSD-UE was reviewed and discussions were held with content experts to develop criterion-based items considered to be potential risk factors for MSD-UE during keyboard use. These items were systematically reviewed and rated by seven experts using the Delphi technique. These ratings were used to determine which items to retain and which to discard, resulting in 19 items to define keyboarding style. The PeCKS, when further psychometric testing is completed, will be useful to document and assess keyboarding to identify those individuals who may be at risk for MSD-UE.