Evaluating the Effect of Timeline Shape on Visualization Task Performance

Timelines are commonly represented on a horizontal line, which is not necessarily the most effective way to visualize temporal event sequences. However, few experiments have evaluated how timeline shape influences task performance. We present the design and results of a controlled experiment run on Amazon Mechanical Turk (n=192) in which we evaluate how timeline shape affects task completion time, correctness, and user preference. We tested 12 combinations of 4 shapes -- horizontal line, vertical line, circle, and spiral -- and 3 data types -- recurrent, non-recurrent, and mixed event sequences. We found good evidence that timeline shape meaningfully affects user task completion time but not correctness and that users have a strong shape preference. Building on our results, we present design guidelines for creating effective timeline visualizations based on user task and data types. A free copy of this paper, the evaluation stimuli and data, and code are available at https://osf.io/qr5yu/Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

La línea de tiempo como herramienta de visualización y co-diseño de historias

En este artículo analizamos las posibilidades de la herramienta de línea de tiempo o timeline en la construcción de historias colectivas a través de procesos de co-diseño. La investigación en visualización y su dimensión narrativa da prioridad al rol de figuras expertas, quienes definen las experiencias. Sin embargo, no se presta tanta atención a alternativas basadas en la participación que permiten ampliar las voces en la construcción narrativa. A partir de una revisión crítica sobre visualización y líneas de tiempo proponemos una serie de criterios —modalidad, pluralidad, simultaneidad, no linealidad e inclusividad— como base de un modelo de análisis aplicado en dos acciones de investigación y co-diseño con comunidades. Los resultados muestran que el formato resulta relevante en procesos inclusivos de creación y discusión por su simplicidad y claridad, ya que favorece la adición de factores y puntos de vista alrededor de historias significativas para un colectivo

Evaluating the Effect of Timeline Shape on Visualization Task Performance

Timelines are commonly represented on a horizontal line, which is not necessarily the most effective way to visualize temporal event sequences. However, few experiments have evaluated how timeline shape influences task performance. We present the design and results of a controlled experiment run on Amazon Mechanical Turk (n=192) in which we evaluate how timeline shape affects task completion time, correctness, and user preference. We tested 12 combinations of 4 shapes --- horizontal line, vertical line, circle, and spiral --- and 3 data types --- recurrent, non-recurrent, and mixed event sequences. We found good evidence that timeline shape meaningfully affects user task completion time but not correctness and that users have a strong shape preference. Building on our results, we present design guidelines for creating effective timeline visualizations based on user task and data types. A free copy of this paper, the evaluation stimuli and data, and code are available at https://osf.io/qr5yu