Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
types of tasks had to be answered repeatedly to eliminate the influence of the order
of the map portals on the test. It usually took more time to perform a task using the
first map portal, compared to the time needed for the second and third evaluated
portal, due to user familiarity with the task. Correct performance of a task and the
time required to accomplish it were measured for the selected tasks.
Results
The main purpose of this study was to identify current usability problems on the
following map portals: Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Map Quest. In this section,
we compare the potential usability problems arising from our research with the
results of Nivala et al. (
2008
). The results are divided into two parts and correspond
to the main research methods: qualitative and quantitative.
Participants in User Test
The user test described in the previous section was taken by 127 respondents (67/60
male/female). The data gathered from the personal data questionnaire shows that
the majority of the participants were students of Geography at Masaryk University
(average age 22.9 years). Most of the participants use a computer every day, so the
user group was quite homogenous.
Qualitative Data/Research
Most of the problems identified relate to the maps themselves. The map is the most
important part of a map portal, since it contains all the information that is provided.
Moreover, the usability errors concerning the user interface, search operations and
help and guidance seem to have been solved since Nivala et al. (
2008
) conducted
her study. It is possible to divide the remaining problems into two groups: map
visualization and map tools.
Map visualization is a rather subjective issue; nevertheless, differences can be
recognized among the evaluated portals. Several problems described by Nivala
et al. (
2008
) still persist and have already been reported in this paper in the section
about methodology. Nevertheless, some other problems have been identified.
Figure
3
shows the differences in map visualization of the tested web map
portals of a certain scale. Map visualization can influence users
ability to read
information on a map. It is important to realize that a map is not only a presentation
of spatial data, but it is especially a means of communication between the cartog-
rapher and the map user, as described by MacEachren (
1979
).
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