Viewing personal history records: A comparison of tabular format and graphical presentation using LifeLines

TitleViewing personal history records: A comparison of tabular format and graphical presentation using LifeLines
Publication TypeJournal Articles
Year of Publication1998
AuthorsAlonso D L, Rose A, Plaisant C, Norman KL
JournalBehaviour & Information Technology
Volume17
Issue5
Pagination249 - 262
Date Published1998///
ISBN Number0144-929X
Abstract

Thirty-six participants used a static version of either LifeLines, a graphical interface, or a tabular representation to answer questions about a database of temporal personal history information. Results suggest that overall the LifeLines representation led to much faster response times, primarily for questions which involved interval comparisons and making intercategorical connections. A 'first impression' test showed that LifeLines can reduce some of the biases of the tabular record summary. A post-experimental memory test led to significantly (p< 0.004) higher recall for LifeLines. Finally, simple interaction techniques are proposed to compensate for the problems of the static LifeLines display's ability to deal with precise dates, attribute coding and overlaps.Thirty-six participants used a static version of either LifeLines, a graphical interface, or a tabular representation to answer questions about a database of temporal personal history information. Results suggest that overall the LifeLines representation led to much faster response times, primarily for questions which involved interval comparisons and making intercategorical connections. A 'first impression' test showed that LifeLines can reduce some of the biases of the tabular record summary. A post-experimental memory test led to significantly (p< 0.004) higher recall for LifeLines. Finally, simple interaction techniques are proposed to compensate for the problems of the static LifeLines display's ability to deal with precise dates, attribute coding and overlaps.

URLhttp://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/014492998119328
DOI10.1080/014492998119328