Cartogram and Choropleth communicative effectiveness – participant test results 2015

These are the results obtained from an empirical test looking at the communicative effectiveness between two types of two dimensional (2D) map formats: The Choropleth map, and the Cartogram. Participants were interviewed and observed individually during the procedure. 72 volunteer participants completed the test over the period between; October 2014 – January 2015, using maps produced from iGeology, and mySoil mobile app usage data in the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. The results contain the recorded measurements of spatial accuracy, and the time taken for each participant to answers 3 test questions. A post-test qualitative reaction of each participants’ preference between the two map types is recorded, along with their gender, age, visual impediments, and self–assessed map reading ability.

Glossary

Choropleth map: a map which uses differences in shading, colouring, or the placing of symbols within predefined areas to indicate the average values of a particular quantity in those areas.

Cartogram: a type of map that proportionally distorts its regions in accordance to a given value.