Comprendere informazioni complesse con i multimedia. Quando l'immagine č a pop-up
- We examined the consequences of a visualization pattern often chosen by web sites which show textual information within the web pages and the related iconic information within pop-up windows. The information visualization in pop-up windows aims to integrate text and pictures but makes difficult the analysis of both information resources. We conducted an experiment in which 80 participants read on a computer screen a text with embedded graphs either near (to the related textual information) or far (from it), plus graphs were integrated in the text or within pop-up windows. The reading behaviour of participants was observed to establish who, among them, examined the graphs and who did not. The recall for textual and iconic information was measured using a recall questionnaire. Our pattern of data shows a student's tendency to ignore graphs, in particular when they are visualized in pop-up windows. These results are confirmed by interviews to undergraduate students who analyzed the same materials using thinking aloud method.