Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The students were then asked how many pools they see in the park on GM, MQ,
and BM.
The following null-hypotheses were formulated as a result of the pre-test and the
exploration of the web map portals: GM will appear as the best map portal because
users are used to working with it and the orientation is easy. The map visualization
and symbology are also very familiar to the greatest number of users, and therefore
they will consider its symbology to be the best. GM
s labels will also be considered
the best, since the labels on MQ are too small and difficult to read, and labels on BM
are disproportionate and they overlay additional information. Moreover, users will
prefer the possibility of turning layers on and off and regulating the amount of
information contained in the map. On MQ, it will be difficult to distinguish bodies
of water in the parks.
'
User Test
The user test in the MUTEP (MUltivariate TEsting Program) was drawn up
according to the null hypotheses and the pre-test results as described above.
MUTEP was developed by the Department of Geography at Masaryk University
for the purposes of objective experimental exploration and evaluation of carto-
graphical products. This application uses an innovative cognitive testing method
that combines quantitative and qualitative information; the software enables us to
test various inputs, from isolated cartographic symbols to a set of complex inter-
active maps. Moreover, it allows us to explore various types of operations or
cognitive processes. MUTEP enables group administration, automatic evaluation
of results and export to a form that is suitable for statistical analyses (
ˇ
a
ˇ
inka and
Morong
2012
).
MUTEP was installed on a server; preparation and administration of the test
battery were therefore realized online. The test was conducted under homogeneous
conditions via a web browser and took between 15 and 20 min. The test consisted of
an introductory portion and two portions of testing tasks. The introductory portion
was necessary in order to obtain the data for the subsequent statistical evaluation.
After filling in a personal data questionnaire, the users were asked to answer
several questions about the analysed web map portals, e.g. which portals they use
and for what purposes (see Fig.
1
).
In the second portion of the test, users were asked to choose one of four buttons
according to the assigned task. Only one option could be chosen. The first task in
this portion tested the subjective preferences of the users: the preferred map on two
scales (see Fig.
2
) and the most suitable symbol for a cinema and a school. These
categories were chosen because they were present in all three web map portals, yet
they were visualized with different symbols. The same type of task was used for
determining the number of bodies of water in a park on MQ to confirm or contradict
the results of the pre-test (Fig.
3
, task 1-3). The final task in this set of tasks tested
whether the users misinterpret the violet polygons in a park on BM as bodies of
