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Comparing Different Levels of Interactivity in the Visualization of Spatio-Temporal Data University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 8-10-2005 Comparing Different Levels of Interactivity in the Visualization of Spatio-Temporal Data Samara Ebinger University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Recommended Citation Ebinger, Samara, "Comparing Different Levels of Interactivity in the Visualization of Spatio-Temporal Data" (2005). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 281. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/281 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMPARING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTERACTIVITY IN THE VISUALIZATION OF SPATIO-TEMPORAL DATA A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of Geography by Samara Ebinger B.A. George Mason University, 1996 August, 2005 Copyright 2005, Samara Ebinger ii For my parents, John and Angela Ebinger iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the people mentioned below and I am indebted to them all. I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee for all of their help and support: Dr. André Skupin, for serving as my major professor and graduate advisor, and for his honest criticism and enthusiasm for the work comprising this thesis; Dr. Ron Hagelman for his encouragement and guidance in my graduate studies, and for also giving me the opportunity to work as his graduate assistant; and Dr. Jane Brooks for her vast insight into the urban landscape of New Orleans and the French Quarter. I thank Walt and Ronda Rose for their friendship and support I was lucky to find during my stay in New Orleans. Finally, many thanks to my parents and sisters for their love and support they have continually given me through the years. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS............................................................................................ vii LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 A new era of scientific visualization...............................................................................2 Geovisualization .............................................................................................................4 Depicting spatio-temporal data: Static maps .................................................................6 Depicting spatio-temporal data: Animation...................................................................7 Depicting spatio-temporal data: The use of higher levels of interactivity...................10 Cognitive and usability issues: Geovisualization tools................................................11 Evaluating the effectiveness of animated cartography, static, and interactivity: Existing research ..............................................................................12 Problem statement.........................................................................................................14 Methods.........................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................18 Interactivity, geovisualization and static maps .............................................................18 Definition of cartographic animation............................................................................22 Evaluating the effectiveness of geovisualization tools .................................................24 Geovisualization tools and usability .............................................................................30 CHAPTER 3 METHODS ...................................................................................................................37 Data...............................................................................................................................37 Creating the geovisualization tools...............................................................................44 Testing the geovisualization tools.................................................................................47 CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS AND RESULTS.......................................................................................52 Quantitative analyses ...................................................................................................53 Qualitative results .........................................................................................................59 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS...........................................................................................................62 v APPENDIX A Static map sheet layouts................................................................................................67 APPENDIX B Animated map with VCR-type controls .......................................................................69 APPENDIX C Toggle map ...................................................................................................................70 APPENDIX D Human subject testing approval and consent form.......................................................71 APPENDIX E Initial test questionnaire................................................................................................75 APPENDIX F Data-related test questions ............................................................................................77 APPENDIX G Open-ended evaluation questions .................................................................................78 APPENDIX H Initial spreadsheet of quantitative data collected..........................................................79 APPENDIX I Chi-square test results...................................................................................................80 APPENDIX J Kruskal-Wallis test results (Accuracy) .........................................................................88 APPENDIX K Kruskal-Wallis test results (Speed)...............................................................................89 APPENDIX L Copyright permission....................................................................................................94 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................96 VITA................................................................................................................................102 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. MacEachren's Cartography Cube.....................................................................................5 2. Study Area .....................................................................................................................38 3. Soards' New Orleans City Directory entry ....................................................................40 4. Polk City Directory, New Orleans, Louisiana entry......................................................40 5. Legend: Commercial and Public Land Use Types .......................................................44 6. Temporal Legend for Computer-Based Animated Maps...............................................46 7. VCR-Type Control Buttons ...........................................................................................47 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. NAICS Sector Codes and Descriptions .........................................................................42 2. Reclassified Data Types.................................................................................................43 3. Mean Number of Questions Answered Correctly..........................................................57 4. Mean Response Times (in milliseconds) .......................................................................58 viii ABSTRACT The Internet and other advances in technology have dramatically affected cartography in recent decades and yet these new capabilities have not been adequately evaluated for effectiveness. Are dynamic maps more effective than traditional static paper maps in allowing users to visualize spatio-temporal patterns? How important is a higher level of interactivity in visualizing data? Which format is preferred? To examine these questions, human subject tests were conducted to evaluate different levels of interactivity as represented by 1) a static paper map series; 2) an animated map with 'VCR'-type controls; and 3) a toggle map featuring an interactive temporal legend. Results indicate that while the
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