Extending sense‐making models with ideas from cognition and learning theories

Zhang, Pengyi; Soergel, Dagobert; Klavans, Judith L.; Oard, Douglas W.

doi:10.1002/meet.2008.1450450219

Cited by 27 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…More recently, Zhang, Soergel, Klavans, and Oard (2008, p. 3) elaborated further the issues of information use by investigating cognitive mechanisms that people employ while interpreting the relevance of information available in diverse sources. Their study departs from the assumption that actors develop representations of the world.…”

Section: Cognitive Mechanisms Employed In Information Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting informational cues: An explorative study on information use among prospective homebuyers

Savolainen¹

2009

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci.

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This article elaborates the picture of information use from the perspective of interpreting informational cues about the attributes of entities. It is assumed that such activity draws on cognitive mechanisms that are employed as the constituents of diverse interpretation approaches to informational cues. The empirical data of the study were gathered by means of think aloud method from 16 prospective homebuyers in 2008. The participants interpreted informational cues available in announcements published in a printed housing listing issue and a Web-based information system serving the needs of prospective homebuyers. The data were examined by means of qualitative content analysis. By drawing on the findings of Zhang and her associates, the study revealed 7 cognitive mechanisms: identification of key attributes, specification, evaluation, comparison by similarity, comparison by differentiation, explanation, and conclusion. Three major approaches employed in the interpetation of informational cues were identified. The descriptive-evaluative approach draws on the identification and evaluation of individual attributes of an entity. The comparative approach is more sophisticated because it is based on the evaluation of the attributes by their perceived similarity or differentiation. Finally, the explanatory approach draws on the identification of attributes with causal potential. IntroductionDue to their abstract nature, the phenomena of information use are not easily amenable to empirical research. The difficulties are exacerbated by the fact that there is no consensus among researchers about how to define information use. Kari (2007) identified three major viewpoints relating to this dilemma. First, it may be claimed that using information starts when the individual connects with an information source. Second, the use of information may be seen synonymous with internalizing information. Third, it may be contended that information use can only begin after the The present study elaborates the picture of information use from the perspective of interpreting informational cues. This approach is novel in information use studies. The idea of the present investigation originates from two major sources. First, there are consumer studies drawing on the human information processing approach (Bettman, Luce, & Payne, 1998). It conceptualizes information use as an activity that focuses on the interpretation of informational cues about the attributes of entities such as products (Savolainen, 2009). Second, the study makes use of the characterization of cognitive mechanisms identified by Zhang and her associates (2008). By drawing on their ideas, an attempt is made to identify cognitive mechanisms people employ while interpreting informational cues. More important, however, the present study aims at showing how people drawing on such mechanisms form and employ diverse interpretation approaches to informational cues. Given the above connection to consumer research, the present study aims at identifying the main interpretation approach...

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Section: Cognitive Mechanisms Employed In Information Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting informational cues: An explorative study on information use among prospective homebuyers

Savolainen¹

2009

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci.

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“…In the human sensemaking loop, we adopt important cognitive processes identified from previous study [8,[12][13][14] with task/prior knowledge as input and updated knowledge/task performance as output [16]. When facing a given task, analysts will interpret the task requirement based on their previous knowledge/experience and such interpretation will influence the whole sensemaking process from forming hypothesis to information collection.…”

Section: A Sensemaking Framework For Visual Analytics On Mobile Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zhang et al extended current sensemaking models with learning theories and created a more comprehensive model [16]. The core of this model is the two-way hybrid iteration between structure and data (based on Russell et al, [8] and Klein's sensemaking model [14]) plus task requirements and users' knowledge.…”

Section: Sensemaking: Theories and Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An interactive sensemaking framework for mobile visual analytics

Zhang

Cai

2010

Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Visual Information Communication

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Increasing mobility for modern life requires people to access information and make decisions -on the go‖. Mobil applications place special constraints that challenge the existing ways of visual analytic design where relatively stable and interaction-rich contexts are assumed. In tasks like learning unfamiliar places, current visualizations on mobile devices are not capable of helping users to form a good cognitive map of the environment. How can we take advantage of rich physical environmental cues and supplement with computational power to help people make sense of the environment? In this paper, we present a framework of sensemaking to model how people get insight into the environment as they navigate around. Based on this framework, we present design guidelines for mobile visual analytics that could enhance the spatial awareness of the navigator and analyze several existing designs through the discussion.

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“…The interface has five main components: Display (1); Context (2); Scope (3); View (4); and Detail (5). The Display Panel shows the visualized 4D object, while the Detail, Scope, and View panels contain the interactive mechanisms, or interaction techniques, through which users are able to control and adjust the degree of internal structural display and visual complexity of the main object.…”

Section: Polyvisementioning

confidence: 99%

“…To make sense of such objects, people need to reason about and mentally manipulate representations of the objects as they carry out different cognitive tasks [2,3]. In doing so, mental models of the objects are developed, elaborated, and refined-all important components of sensemaking activities [4,5]. As the complexity can be identified: number and types of constituent components, number and types of relationships among components, intricacy of relationships among components, symmetry, topology, and number of dimensions in which objects exist [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Sensemaking of Complex Objects with Visualizations: Visibility and Complementarity of Interactions

et al. 2016

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Making sense of complex objects is difficult, and typically requires the use of external representations to support cognitive demands while reasoning about the objects. Visualizations are one type of external representation that can be used to support sensemaking activities. In this paper, we investigate the role of two design strategies in making the interactive features of visualizations more supportive of users' exploratory needs when trying to make sense of complex objects. These two strategies are visibility and complementarity of interactions. We employ a theoretical framework concerned with human-information interaction and complex cognitive activities to inform, contextualize, and interpret the effects of the design strategies. The two strategies are incorporated in the design of Polyvise, a visualization tool that supports making sense of complex four-dimensional geometric objects. A mixed-methods study was conducted to evaluate the design strategies and the overall usability of Polyvise. We report the findings of the study, discuss some implications for the design of visualization tools that support sensemaking of complex objects, and propose five design guidelines. We anticipate that our results are transferrable to other contexts, and that these two design strategies can be used broadly in visualization tools intended to support activities with complex objects and information spaces.

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Extending sense‐making models with ideas from cognition and learning theories

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

Interpreting informational cues: An explorative study on information use among prospective homebuyers

Interpreting informational cues: An explorative study on information use among prospective homebuyers

An interactive sensemaking framework for mobile visual analytics

Supporting Sensemaking of Complex Objects with Visualizations: Visibility and Complementarity of Interactions

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