HR: 0800h
AN: ED31A-0089    [Abstracts]
TI: The Use of Color as a Third Dimension on Maps
AU: * Cid, X
EM: xcid@uta.edu
AF: Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States
AU: Lopez, R
EM: relopez@uta.edu
AF: Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States
AU: Lazarus, S
EM: slazarus@fit.edu
AF: Department of Marine and Environmental Systems, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, United States
AB: As experts, we are trained to understand color schemes used in visualizations in our respective scientific fields. As experts we also forget how complicated graphics can be when viewed for the first time. Previous studies have shown that three-dimensional diagrams can produce a cognitive overload when rendered on a two-dimensional surface, so the same might apply to graphics that use color as a third dimension. This study was conducted to investigate the use of color as a third dimension. We looked at the use of color as a scale height on a basic topographic map, as well as the use of color as temperature. Fifty-four undergraduates from two different physics courses and REU programs during the spring and summer semesters in 2007 were given surveys regarding the use of color. Of these 54 students, eight students were chosen to participate in interviews designed to investigate, in more detail, the responses provided by the students in the hopes to discover where confusions occur. It was found that students have an embedded color scheme for temperatures of red representing hot and blue representing cold as a product of societal influences, which was expected, but there was no embedded color scheme when color was applied to height. We found that students did not have a preference when viewing a topographic map with different color schemes, but did prefer the color scheme of the figure that they viewed first. We observed that the students did have an embedded notion of what the topographic figure was representing, and tried to fit the color scheme shown to match their idea. During the interviews we also found that even the slightest deviations from a specific color scheme gives rise to confusion. These results, therefore, show the importance of detail consistency when using visualizations in a lecture where the population is composed of novices.
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting