月份：2018年8月

Abstract: Map reading is an important skill for acquiring spatial information. Previous studies have mainly used results-based assessments to learn about map-reading skills. However, how to model the relationship between map-reading skills and eye movement metrics is not well documented. In this paper, we propose a novel method to assess map-reading skills using eye movement metrics and Bayesian structural equation modelling. We recruited 258 participants to complete five map-reading tasks, which included map visualization, topology, navigation, and spatial association. The results indicated that map-reading skills could be reflected in three selected eye movement metrics, namely,the measure of first fixation, the measure of processing, and the measure of search. The model fitted well for all five tasks, and the scores generated by the model reflected the accuracy and efficiency of the participants’ performance. This study might provide a new approach to facilitate the quantitative assessment of map-reading skills based on eye tracking.

To site this paper:

Dong, W.; Jiang, Y.; Zheng, L.; Liu, B.; Meng, L. Assessing Map-Reading Skills Using Eye Tracking and Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3050.

doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093050

Abstract: In this article, we use eye-tracking methods to analyze the differences in spatial ability between geographers and non-geographers regarding topographic maps, as reflected in the following three aspects: map-based spatial localization, map-based spatial orientation, and map-based spatial visualization. We recruited 32 students from Beijing Normal University (BNU) and divided them into groups of geographers and non-geographers based on their major. In terms of their spatial localization ability, geographers had shorter response times, higher fixation frequencies, and fewer saccades than non-geographers, and the differences were significant. For their spatial orientation ability, compared to non-geographers, geographers had significantly lower response times, lower fixation counts and fewer saccades as well as significantly higher fixation frequencies. In terms of their spatial visualization ability, geographers’ response times were significantly shorter than those of non-geographers, but there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of
fixation count, fixation frequency or saccade count. We also found that compared to geographers, non-geographers usually spent more time completing these tasks. The results of this study are helpful in improving the map-based spatial ability of users of topographic maps.

To site this paper:

Dong, W.; Zheng, L.; Liu, B.; Meng, L. Using Eye Tracking to Explore Differences in Map-Based Spatial Ability between Geographers and Non-Geographers. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2018, 7, 337.

doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi7090337