Searching Information from Screen Maps

Geographical information and digital maps are integrated in many ways into our every-day life through various GIS solutions. Screen maps and map interfaces should be easyto-use for many kinds of user groups. Since digital maps have opened new ways to use geographic information, screen map users are facing new kinds of perceptual and cognitive challenges. There is, however, quite little knowledge of how people find information from a screen map. This paper describes a study where geographic objects were searched for from a screen map by using either zooming or scrolling. The aim of the study was to find out, whether there is a difference in search performance between different map user groups. Half of the participants were novice users; half of them were more experienced with screen maps. The searched-for object was shown on an index map, which was either visible during the whole trial or flashed shortly in the beginning of a trial. Participants’ eye movements were recorded. Our resul...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: SCANGIS
• Authors: Outi Hermans, Jari Laarni
• Keywords: Index Map, Information Technology, Map Users, SCANGIS 2003, Screen Maps