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Measuring effectiveness of graph visualizations: A cognitive load perspective
Citation
Huang, W and Eades, P and Hong, S-H, Measuring effectiveness of graph visualizations: A cognitive load perspective, Information Visualization, 8, (3) pp. 139-152. ISSN 1473-8716 (2009) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2009 Sage Publications Ltd
Abstract
Graph visualizations are typically evaluated by comparing their
differences in effectiveness, measured by task performance such as response
time and accuracy. Such performance-based measures have proved to be
useful in their own right. There are some situations, however, where the performance
measures alone may not be sensitive enough to detect differences. This
limitation can be seen from the fact that the graph viewer may achieve the
same level of performance by devoting different amounts of cognitive effort.
In addition, it is not often that individual performance measures are consistently
in favor of a particular visualization. This makes design and evaluation
difficult in choosing one visualization over another. In an attempt to overcome
the above-mentioned limitations, we measure the effectiveness of graph
visualizations from a cognitive load perspective. Human memory as an information
processing system and recent results from cognitive load research are
reviewed first. The construct of cognitive load in the context of graph visualization
is proposed and discussed. A model of user task performance, mental
effort and cognitive load is proposed thereafter to further reveal the interacting
relations between these three concepts. A cognitive load measure called
mental effort is introduced and this measure is further combined with traditional
performance measures into a single multi-dimensional measure called
visualization efficiency. The proposed model and measurements are tested in
a user study for validity. Implications of the cognitive load considerations in
graph visualization are discussed.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | graph visualization; cognitive load; visualization efficiency; visualization effectiveness; evaluation |
Research Division: | Information and Computing Sciences |
Research Group: | Library and information studies |
Research Field: | Human information interaction and retrieval |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the information and computing sciences |
UTAS Author: | Huang, W (Dr Tony Huang) |
ID Code: | 90127 |
Year Published: | 2009 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 105 |
Deposited By: | Information and Communication Technology |
Deposited On: | 2014-03-27 |
Last Modified: | 2015-02-05 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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