Opportunities for Empirical Research on Interactive Maps and Visualizations
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Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2017 User studies in cartography: opportunities for empirical research on interactive maps and visualizations Roth, Robert E ; Cöltekin, Arzu ; Delazari, Luciene ; Filho, Homero Fonseca ; Griffin, Amy ; Hall, Andreas ; Korpi, Jari ; Lokka, Ismini-Eleni ; Mendonça, André ; Ooms, Kristien ; van Elzakker, Corné PJM Abstract: The possibility of digital interactivity requires us to reenvision the map reader as the map user, and to address the perceptual, cognitive, cultural, and practical considerations that influence the user’s experience with interactive maps and visualizations. In this article, we present an agenda for empirical research on this user and the interactive designs he or she employs. The research agenda is a result of a multi-stage discussion among international scholars facilitated by the International Car- tographic Association that included an early round of position papers and two subsequent workshops to narrow into pressing themes and important research opportunities. The focus of our discussion is epistemological and reflects the wide interdisciplinary influences on user studies in cartography. The opportunities are presented as imperatives that cross basic research and user-centered design studies, and identify practical impediments to empirical research, emerging interdisciplinary recommendations to improve user studies, and key research needs specific to the study of interactive maps and visualizations. La possibilité de l’interactivité numérique nous pousse à revoir le lecteur de cartes comme un utilisateur de cartes et à traiter les considérations perceptuelles, cognitives, culturelles et pratiques qui influencent l’expérience d’un utilisateur de cartes et de visualisations interactives. Dans cet article nous présen- tons un agenda de recherche empirique sur cet utilisateur et sur les conceptions interactives qu’il ou elle réalise. L’agenda de recherche proposé est le résultat d’une discussion en plusieurs étapes menée par des spécialistes internationaux, facilitée par l’association cartographique internationale selon un processus comprenant un premier ensemble de papiers de positions, suivi de deux ateliers dont les objectifs étaient de se concentrer autour de thèmes prioritaires et d’opportunités de recherche majeures. L’objet de la discussion était épistémologique et reflète les larges influences interdisciplinaires des études portant sur les utilisateurs en cartographie. Les opportunités sont présentées comme des impératifs qui associent les recherches fondamentales aux études de conception centrées utilisateurs. Elles permettent d’identifier les obstacles pratiques aux recherches empiriques, les recommandations interdisciplinaires émergeantes pour améliorer les études des utilisateurs et les besoins de recherche prioritaires spécifiques à l’étude des cartes et visualisations interactives. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2017.1288534 Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-144646 Journal Article Published Version The following work is licensed under a Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License. Originally published at: Roth, Robert E; Cöltekin, Arzu; Delazari, Luciene; Filho, Homero Fonseca; Griffin, Amy; Hall, Andreas; Korpi, Jari; Lokka, Ismini-Eleni; Mendonça, André; Ooms, Kristien; van Elzakker, Corné P J M (2017). User studies in cartography: opportunities for empirical research on interactive maps and visualizations. International Journal of Cartography, 3(sup1):61-89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2017.1288534 2 International Journal of Cartography ISSN: 2372-9333 (Print) 2372-9341 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tica20 User studies in cartography: opportunities for empirical research on interactive maps and visualizations Robert E. Roth, Arzu Çöltekin, Luciene Delazari, Homero Fonseca Filho, Amy Griffin, Andreas Hall, Jari Korpi, Ismini Lokka, André Mendonça, Kristien Ooms & Corné P.J.M. van Elzakker To cite this article: Robert E. Roth, Arzu Çöltekin, Luciene Delazari, Homero Fonseca Filho, Amy Griffin, Andreas Hall, Jari Korpi, Ismini Lokka, André Mendonça, Kristien Ooms & Corné P.J.M. van Elzakker (2017) User studies in cartography: opportunities for empirical research on interactive maps and visualizations, International Journal of Cartography, 3:sup1, 61-89, DOI: 10.1080/23729333.2017.1288534 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2017.1288534 © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa Published online: 24 May 2017. UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Submit your article to this journal Article views: 247 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 4 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tica20 Download by: [UZH Hauptbibliothek / Zentralbibliothek Zürich] Date: 10 January 2018, At: 13:22 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CARTOGRAPHY, 2017 VOL. 3, NO. S1, 61–89 https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2017.1288534 User studies in cartography: opportunities for empirical research on interactive maps and visualizations Robert E. Roth a, Arzu Çöltekin b, Luciene Delazaric, Homero Fonseca Filho d, Amy Griffin e, Andreas Hall f, Jari Korpif, Ismini Lokkab, André Mendonça g, Kristien Ooms h and Corné P.J.M. van Elzakkeri aUW Cartography Lab, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; bGeographic Information Visualization and Analysis (GIVA) Unit, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; cDepartment of Geomatics, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil; dGeospatial Computing Lab, Environmental Management Department, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; eSchool of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia; fDepartment of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland; gSchool of Technology, Amazonas State University, Manaus, Brazil; hDepartment of Geography, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; iGeo-information Processing, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY The possibility of digital interactivity requires us to reenvision the map Received 7 June 2016 reader as the map user, and to address the perceptual, cognitive, Accepted 26 January 2017 cultural, and practical considerations that influence the user’s KEYWORDS experience with interactive maps and visualizations. In this article, we Empirical cartography; present an agenda for empirical research on this user and the interactive maps; controlled interactive designs he or she employs. The research agenda is a experiments; design studies; result of a multi-stage discussion among international scholars usability evaluation; user facilitated by the International Cartographic Association that included experience design an early round of position papers and two subsequent workshops to narrow into pressing themes and important research opportunities. The focus of our discussion is epistemological and reflects the wide interdisciplinary influences on user studies in cartography. The opportunities are presented as imperatives that cross basic research and user-centered design studies, and identify practical impediments to empirical research, emerging interdisciplinary recommendations to improve user studies, and key research needs specific to the study of interactive maps and visualizations. RÉSUMÉ La possibilité de l’interactivité numérique nous pousse à revoir le lecteur de cartes comme un utilisateur de cartes et à traiter les considérations perceptuelles, cognitives, culturelles et pratiques qui influencent l’expérience d’un utilisateur de cartes et de visualisations interactives. Dans cet article nous présentons un Downloaded by [UZH Hauptbibliothek / Zentralbibliothek Zürich] at 13:22 10 January 2018 agenda de recherche empirique sur cet utilisateur et sur les conceptions interactives qu’il ou elle réalise. L’agenda de recherche proposé est le résultat d’une discussion en plusieurs étapes menée par des spécialistes internationaux, facilitée par l’association cartographique internationale selon un processus CONTACT Robert E. Roth [email protected] © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. 62 R.E. ROTH ET AL. comprenant un premier ensemble de papiers de positions, suivi de deux ateliers dont les objectifs étaient de se concentrer autour de thèmes prioritaires et d’opportunités de recherche majeures. L’objet de la discussion était épistémologique et reflète les larges influences interdisciplinaires des études portant sur les utilisateurs en cartographie. Les opportunités sont présentées comme des impératifs qui associent les recherches fondamentales aux études de conception centrées utilisateurs. Elles permettent d’identifier les obstacles pratiques aux recherches empiriques, les recommandations interdisciplinaires émergeantes