What Went Wrong for Bad Solvers during Thematic Map Analysis? Lessons Learned from an Eye-Tracking Study

Abstract

Thematic map analysis is a complex and challenging task that might result in map user failure for many reasons. In the study reported here, we wanted to search for differences between successful and unsuccessful map users, focusing—unlike many similar studies—on strategies applied by users who give incorrect answers. In the eye-tracking study, followed by a questionnaire survey, we collected data from 39 participants. The eye-tracking data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively to compare participants’ strategies from various perspectives. Unlike the results of some other studies, it turned out that unsuccessful participants show some similarities that are consistent across most analyzed tasks. The main issues that characterize bad solvers relate to improper use of the thematic legend, the inability to focus on relevant map layout elements, as well as on adequate map content. Moreover, they differed in the general problem-solving approach used as they, for example, tended to choose fast, less cautious, strategies. Based on the collected results, we developed tips that could help prevent unsuccessful participants ending with an incorrect answer and therefore be beneficial in map use education.

Exploring the Cognitive Load of Expert and Novice Map Users Using EEG and Eye Tracking

“…Although the cognitive load of these groups did not differ based on the task difficulty within the frame of this research, classifying participants based on their spatial memory performances provided different insights on map user' cognitive processes. Similar to what was found by Havelková and Gołębiowska [13], unsuccessful participants differed in the general problem-solving approach, in a way that they tended to choose fast, less cautious strategies, and lacked motivation.…”

“…In the context of solving a physics problem, correct answers are associated with the fact that the participants look at thematically relevant areas, unlike wrong answers being correlated with their focus on perceptually salient areas of the visual stimulus [12]. Similarly, while solving a thematic map problem, unsuccessful participants were not able to use of the thematic legend properly, focus on the relevant map layout elements, and adequate map content [13].…”

Differences in Thematic Map Reading by Students and Their Geography Teacher

“…One approach involved a string-edit-distance method which had been previously used in many eye-tracking studies to compare different participant groups (i.e., [76][77][78][79]). Specifically, ScanGraph calculated the similarity of scanpaths according to Levenshtein distance (i.e., [43,80,81]) and visualized the results calculated using the multimatch method, which can only indicate similarity between two scanpaths. The present study used batch calculations to calculate the similarity between all possible pairs of participants, in other words, 961 calculations (31 × 31) for each of the ten stimuli in the experiment.…”

“…Biland and Çöltekin [42] used a similar type of stimuli. Havelková and Gołębiowska [43] evaluated thematic maps using eye-tracking. In their study, the stimuli were created by the authors but selected according to a content analysis of school geography atlases and textbooks.…”

Eye Tracking Research in Cartography: Looking into the Future

“…Moreover, previous years' eye tracking has been used as the main experimental method for the evaluation of the effectiveness of specific types of maps (e.g., [21][22][23]) or different map-based graphical user interfaces (e.g., [24]) working either on typical or smaller (i.e., smartphones) displays [25], under different types of tasks (e.g., [26,27]) and conditions. Substantial contributions have also been presented in the domains of geography map-use education [28,29] and in geovisualization tools' learnability effects [30]. Additionally, recent research studies appearing in the field deal with more theoretical concepts related to the map symbolization process as well as the effectiveness of the fundamental element of map design used either in classic static representations [31] or in modern animated maps [32].…”