Abstract
Abstract. Geographic information systems (GIS) facilitate location-based decision making. Despite the improved availability of GIS software to non-professionals, training in cartographic design has not followed suit. Prior research indicates that when presented with map choices, users are influenced by naïve realism, a preference for realistic displays cotaining irrelevant, extraneous details, leading to decreased task efficiency. This study investigated the role of naïve realism in decision making for natural resource management, a field that often employs geospatial tools. Data was collected through a GIS user ability test, a questionnaire and direct observation. Forty volunteer expert and non-expert resource managers evaluated the suitability of different sites for a land management scenario. Each participant was tested on two map display treatments containing different levels of realism – a simpler 2D display and a more complex 3D display – to compare task performance. Performance was measured by task accuracy and task completion time. User perceptions and preferences about the displays were also recorded. Display realism had an impact on performance and there were indications naïve realism was present. Users completed tasks significantly faster on the 2D display and many individuals misjudged which display they were most accurate or fastest with. The results are informative for designing information systems containing interactive maps, particularly for resource management applications. The results also suggest that the order displays were presented had a significant effect and may have implications for teaching users map-based tasks.
Highlights
Geographic information systems (GIS) and dynamic maps facilitate decision making
Accuracy rates were evaluated with paired samples sign tests for within-group analyses and Mann Whitney U tests for comparisons between groups
This study explored how display realism affects decision making performance with interactive maps and user perceptions about their own performance
Summary
Geographic information systems (GIS) and dynamic maps facilitate decision making. Despite it being easier for novice users without formal cartographic training to create maps, they often do not choose the most effective visual displays for completing tasks, leading to increased cognitive load and decreased performance.A user’s experience level affects how cartographic information is accessed and used. Geographic information systems (GIS) and dynamic maps facilitate decision making. Despite it being easier for novice users without formal cartographic training to create maps, they often do not choose the most effective visual displays for completing tasks, leading to increased cognitive load and decreased performance. Expert map readers were better able to recognize landform patterns and determine the high and low points on test maps because they searched for patterns in contour lines to match with familiar landform patterns stored in their memory. This allowed experts to quickly associate the two-dimensional (2D) map to a three-dimensional (3D) representation. Experts made the most use of available information by examining fewer variables at the same time, while reviewing more combinations of variables than novices
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