Testing Subjective Preference and Map Use Performance: Use of Web Maps for Decision Making in the Public Health Sector

Abstract

Maps support many planning activities, from general purpose tasks to in-depth spatial analyses. However, preferences and intuitions, which occur in all human interactions, are often disregarded in use and user research in cartography, and there is evidences that analysis of these factors is desirable. It is commonly believed that there is a positive correlation between subjective preference and objective performance, and there is agreement about the main role of media in map comprehension. To investigate this topic, quantitative experiments were performed, based on a real situation in which students need to make decisions about public health care management in a city. Users were asked about their preferences with respect to map type, and performances in carrying out tasks were measured. The results indicate that for simple visual comparison tasks, the proposed Web map framework was adequate. However, this was not the case for reasoning tasks, where weak performances were registered. Also, user preference among visual variables seemed to be unrelated to better performance, and since performances were poor, the important role played by interface usability and attractiveness in map use is verified.