Abstract

GOMEZ SOLORZANO, Lilliam Sofía. Usability, cartographic interaction and choropleth maps. Universidad y Sociedad [online]. 2023, vol.15, n.3, pp. 344-356.  Epub June 30, 2023. ISSN 2218-3620.

Choropleth maps have been a challenge to cartographic science for more than half a century, their main difficulties being color levels and optical illusions. Many cartographic problems have been diminishing as technology advances and there are new forms of representation, such as cartographic interaction. In this study we present two choropleth maps, one interactive and one static, evaluated by usability metrics: effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. Both represent the population density of the municipalities of Honduras in 8 categories; a six-task questionnaire was applied to two groups of 33 participants. An eyetracking technique was also used to analyze visual effort. The interactive map obtained the highest percentages in the three usability metrics with significant differences, especially in relation to performance in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Satisfaction in both does not present significant differences. It is concluded that the cartographic interaction in the choropleth map legend can dismantle the typical cartographic norm of 7 classes of color levels.

Keywords : Choropleth; Cartographic interaction; Usability; Legend; Colour levels; Number of classes.

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