User studies in cartography: A collaborative research agenda

Abstract

The possibility of digital interactivity requires us to reenvision the map reader as the map user, and to address the new perceptual, cognitive, cultural, and practical considerations that now influence the user's experience with interactive maps and visualizations. Here, we present an agenda for empirical research on these users and the interactive designs they employ. This is one of several research agendas resulting from a multi-stage discussion among international scholars facilitated by the International Cartographic Association, which included an early round of position papers and two subsequent workshops to narrow into pressing themes and important research opportunities. The focus of this agenda is epistemological and reflects the wide interdisciplinary influences on user studies in cartography. The opportunities are presented as imperatives that cross basic research and user-centered design studies, and include practical impediments to empirical research, emerging interdisciplinary recommendations to improve user studies, and key research needs regarding the specific study of interactive maps and visualizations. This presentation is based on the article available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2017.1288534