The Effectiveness of Graphical Presentation for Information Extraction: A Cumulative Experimental Approach*
通过三个实验室实验，比较条形图、符号图和折线图在信息提取任务中的时间和准确性表现，发现图形格式与任务的锚定特征匹配程度影响效率。
ABSTRACT Three laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of bar, symbol, and line graphs for performing a variety of elementary information extraction tasks using two dependent variables, time and accuracy. The findings indicate that the degree of support provided by a particular graph format for a particular data extraction task depends on the matching of format and task in terms of their anchoring characteristics. Anchoring, in this context, refers to the phenomenon that specific and diverse parts of a graph are segmented by the reader to act as salient and relevant cues, or anchors, when different classes of information are to be extracted from the graph. A data extraction task has high x ‐value ( y ‐value) anchoring if the x ‐axis ( y ‐axis) component is represented in the question as either a given value or an unknown value. Conversely, a task has low x ‐value ( y ‐value) anchoring if the x ‐axis ( y ‐axis) component is not represented in the question as either a given value or as an unknown value. Data extraction accuracy was not significantly affected by presentation format. Bars provided the best time performance for data extraction tasks having high anchoring on both axes but were not appropriate for tasks having low anchoring on either the y axis or both the x and y axes. Line graphs tended to be worse in terms of time performance for tasks having high anchoring on both axes although they were as fast or better than other representations for tasks having low anchoring on both axes. Symbol plots appeared to possess anchoring characteristics associated with both bars and line graphs. Symbols (as with bars) tended to produce a time performance superior to that of line graphs for tasks having high anchoring on both axes; and (as with line graphs) symbols allowed faster results than bar graphs for tasks having low anchoring on either the y axis or both the x and y axes.