Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Spring 2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Department of Psychology
Advisor(s)
Jeffrey T. Andre
Abstract
Researchers, pollsters, marketers, and others use graphical displays to reduce the need for wordy, and often unclear, descriptions of their findings. Numerous studies have attempted to determine important graphical attributes that aid readers’ graphical perception. For example, does three-dimensionality (3D) of a graph help readers to accurately assess the graph’s data? The present study is the first to use eye movement data to quantify how 3D graphs, graph type, the use of gridlines, and data positioning affected readers’ perception and accuracy. Participants viewed 24 different graphs while their eye movements were recorded. Time, fixation, and accuracy were recorded for each graph and for the function, value, and position of each graph. Results showed significant effects of all variables such that performance was worse for: line graphs, 3D graphs, graphs without gridlines, and data positions further from the vertical axis. All variables also interacted. Implications for the graphical representation of quantitative information is discussed.
Recommended Citation
Mathers, Catherine, "The effects of x-axis rotation on data estimation accuracy" (2015). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 59.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/59
