Integrated Visualization of Space and Time: A Distributed Cognition Perspective

Abstract

Spatiotemporal visualizations pose certain challenges for comprehension and reasoning processes. This specifically applies to casual users who want to gain an overview of the spatiotemporal origins of large cultural collections in a relatively short time. Based on a distributed cognition approach, we compare four visualization techniques (coordinated multiple views, color coding, animation and space-time cube representations), which offer different solutions to represent spatial and temporal information in an integrated fashion. We firstly assess the strengths and weaknesses of these techniques with regard to existing work. We then complement these findings with a close look at the reasoning processes of 18 casual users. In a mixed methods study, they explored a photo collection from the middle of the 20th century by means of all four spatiotemporal visualization techniques. We investigate and compare the effects of these techniques on processes of internalization, spatiotemporal reasoning and comprehension by analyzing the observed spatial, temporal and spatiotemporal insights and the degree of connectedness of these insights. Our results provide an in-depth look at how each visualization technique supports the construction of coherent internal representations and, together with data on cognitive load and subjective references, help to understand for which tasks and users they are suited.

A two‐step approach to detect and understand dismisinformation events occurring in social media: A case study with critical times

“…Lastly, since information obtained from visualisations may significantly affect an analyst's sensemaking and decision‐making processes with respect to dis/misinformation, it is critical to ensure the reliability and validity of dis/misinformation discovered with our data visualisations. However, ensuring such ‘trust’ in visualisations is still quite complex and remains underexplored (Mayr et al, 2019). Thomas and Kielman (2009) sought to shed light on this issue, concluding that measuring and verifying the reliability of data visualisations remain major challenges for the visual analytics and data visualisation community.…”

“…However, ensuring such 'trust' in visualisations is still quite complex and remains underexplored (Mayr et al, 2019). Thomas and Kielman (2009) sought to shed light on this issue, concluding that measuring and verifying the reliability of data visualisations remain major challenges for the visual analytics and data visualisation community.…”

Many Views Are Not Enough: Designing for Synoptic Insights in Cultural Collections

“…In the course of the system development, we conducted several user studies (for geotemporal views, 3,17 for set-temporal views 14 ) and regular heuristic inspections. For the summative evaluation of the whole prototype system, we set up a qualitative study with ten casual users (under 30 yrs: 2; 30-40 yrs: 5; over 50 yrs: 3/university degree: 6/ female: 9).…”

“…16 The morphology of the resulting point clouds can be parsed and read by the highly trained faculties of 3-D gestalt perception: Temporal developments become visible as spatial patterns along the vertical dimension-as effectively illustrated by the temporal pattern language encoded into the hull structure of the set-time cube. Empirical studies on casual users confirm that they can identify multidimensional patterns more quickly and more accurately with STC than with 2-D visualizations 17 . Similarly, the present study observed that they facilitate synoptic insights.…”

“…Studies show that STC representations have a certain attraction power and are considered "cool" (as summarized in reference 17 ). Also in the present study, most casual users preferred the STC view for the exploration of a cultural collection.…”