Interpretive Uncertainty and the Evaluation of Symbols and A Taxonomy of Symbol Evaluation Methods and Mobile Evaluation Tool
Open Access
- Author:
- Mullins, Ryan Stephen
- Graduate Program:
- Geography
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Alan Maceachren, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Anthony C Robinson, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- Cartography
Uncertainty
Symbology
Point Symbols
Interpretation
Cognition
Geographic Information Science - Abstract:
- From "Interpretive Uncertainty and the Evaluation of Symbols and A Taxonomy of Symbol Evaluation Methods and Mobile Evaluation Tool": Uncertainty is a complex topic that affects data and those seeking to use data. This research explores a dimension of uncertainty often passed over in the geography and cartography literature; how uncertainty is introduced through the process of interpreting a symbol, referred to herein as \textit{interpretive uncertainty}. This research is grounded in an extensive analysis of research questions and methods, to re-frame and relate existing research to interpretive uncertainty, with a specific focus on the point symbols. This analysis shows that questions asked in existing literature have some ties to interpretive uncertainty, but lack metrics to enable proper understanding. Two participant-reported metrics --- certainty and confidence --- are recommended for use in measuring interpretive uncertainty. The analysis also shows that the experimental methods used to evaluate map symbols are equally appropriate for evaluating interpretive uncertainty. Modifications to these methods are suggested for incorporating metrics that measure interpretive uncertainty as a component of more general symbol evaluations. From "A Taxonomy of Symbol Evaluation Methods and Mobile Evaluation Tool": Practicing cartographers are often limited in the time and resources available to evaluate the effectiveness of the symbols they design and use. Evaluation is a critical component for assessing the effectiveness of a map symbol, but requires considerable effort to adequately design and execute. This overhead can be reduced by providing cartographers with tools that aid in the design and execution process. This paper presents a taxonomy of point symbol evaluation methods from the perspective of a usability evaluation, and a prototype mobile application for performing evaluations using these methods.