scom 5056 design theory in science communication week 3: user experience (part 1) dave goforth fa377...
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SCOM 5056Design Theory
inScience Communication
week 3: user experience (part 1)
Dave GoforthFA377 (Fraser)
705-675-1151 ext 2316 dgoforth@cs. laurentian.ca
How to designscience communication
Many formats (Gregory and Miller)
How to organize / categorize
By media? Broadcast, live, text,…
By audience? Kids, voters, donors,…
By content? Quarks, beetles,…
By context? Policy, entertainment,…
By user experience
Audience experience
Sequential Exploratory
User control moreless
spatiallinear
individualized moreless
content representation deepshallow
Design space
content context audience goal
Knowledge design
experience
A r t e f a c t s
…examples…
ArtifactsImmutable Interactive
Sequential Exploratory
User control moreless
spatiallinear
individualized moreless
content representation deepshallow
Immutable artifactsBased on the knowledge structure,design the experience
– The sequence the user follows is a path through the knowledge structure
– The artifact is fixed but the user still has some control over the experience
spatiallinear
Knowledge structure: Possible paths• starting point(s) [Giere, Reigeluth, ...]
– background knowledge– basic concepts
extension– prerequisites satisfied
Clouds exampletype
high low medium
cirro-cumulus
cumulus stratus alto-cumulus
strato-cumuluscirrus
Clouds example
Article about clouds
1 intro
2 cumulus
3 stratus
type
high low medium
cirro-cumulus
cumulus stratus alto-cumulus
strato-cumuluscirrus
4 stratocumulus5 low clouds6 high clouds7 cirrus …
The sequence the user follows is a path through the knowledge structure
Clouds exampleArticle about clouds
1 intro
2 cumulus
3 stratus
4 stratocumulus5 low clouds6 high clouds7 cirrus …
The artifact is fixed but the user still has some control over the experience:
skip sections, reread, quit, …
User control
Article in different formats:
user control of what?
how much user control?
1. radio broadcast
2. podcast
3. newspaper article
4. file .pdf
5. Word .doc
User control
Article in different formats:
user control of what? time
how much user control? pace• radio broadcast access• podcast format• newspaper article content• file .pdf• Word .doc (Not immutable)
Considering user control in artifact design
sequence of content (e.g., repetition?)
support material(e.g., diagrams)
writing style(e.g., paragraph length)
• time
• pace
• access
• format
• …
• time
• pace
• access
• format
• …
Dimensions of immutable artifacts: examples
Space\Time no yes
0 (point) flash card radio broadcast
1 (linear) printed text oscilloscope
2 (planar) diagram TV broadcast
3 (spatial) model of molecule Virtual Voyages
DimensionsSpace\Time no yes
0 (point) flash card radio broadcast
1 (linear) printed text oscilloscope
2 (planar) diagram TV broadcast
3 (spatial) model of molecule
Virtual Voyages
user controls time (pace and sequence)
creator designsa linear sequence
to be followedby each user
creator designs a spacethrough which
users create their ownunique sequence
creator controls time (pace and sequence)
15 cm.
10 cm.
Design and Experience
Linear
“Above the hinge is a
thin rod of length 10
cm., below it a thicker
rod of length 15 cm.”
Spatial
15 cm.
10 cm.
Design and Experience
Linear
“Above the hinge is a
thin rod of length 10
cm., below it a thicker
rod of length 15 cm.”
Spatial
Linear designs
• knowledge structure highlights prerequisites– possible paths
• Norris et al - use of narrative form, explanation forms
• Mayer - enhancing learning in linear format by constructivist principles
Possible paths, good paths
Free choice learning Path must be engaging if user is to
continue to follow it…How to make an interesting presentation?
One important form is narrative
– “telling a good story”
Mayer: improving effectiveness based on constructivist learning
goal – improve learning at each stage(i) selection,
(ii) organization,
(iii) integration of knowledge
How bad is that lightning example?
Mayer – encourage selection
• formatting (bold, colour, italics,...)
• explicit objectives and questions
• summaries
• elimination of irrelevant information– Mayer’s first name is Richard
match strategies to media:
radio, podcast, print, html, pdf, textfile
match strategies to media:
radio, podcast, print, html, pdf, textfile
Mayer – encourage organization
• structures within text– compare/contrast, classify, enumerate, ...
• headings
• outlines
• graphic representations
• signal words (transitions – “as a result”)
match strategies to media:
radio, podcast, print, html, pdf, textfile
match strategies to media:
radio, podcast, print, html, pdf, textfile
Mayer – encourage integration
• advance organizers• captioned illustrations• examples• animations• elaborative questions (transfer)
Where does “narrative explanation” fit in this model of design?
match strategies to media:
radio, podcast, print, html, pdf, textfile
match strategies to media:
radio, podcast, print, html, pdf, textfile
Norris et al – narrative explanation
• Categorizing scientific explanation by the type-token distinction– Experimental – predictable and repeatable– Historical – ‘unique and unrepeatable’
• Scientific explanation types – Table 2– 8 forms (compare to Toulmin et al)
• Claim:– Narrative explanation is a legitimate model for
(some) scientific explanation, particularly for historical science
Scientific explanation
• Explanation is difficult to define
“make something clear, understandable, or intelligible”
• Many different types
“explain” can meanDevelop meaning, justify, describe,
ascribe cause or purpose
Explanations – p 550• Interpretive• Justificatory• Descriptive• Deductive-nomological• Statistical• Functional• Explanatory unification• Pragmatic• Narrative
My version
JFUF
JFUE
JDUDDecomposition
Elaboration
Function
Und
erst
andi
ngJu
stifi
catio
n
Narrative formsSequence of events
Annal chronological order minutes
Chronicle single subject professional journal article
Narrative perspective – looking back connection between events –> change
Logico-scientific
prediction “Universal truth” context
Nature article
Narrative Explanation - story
narrative elements – p.5451. events2. narrator3. narrative appetite4. past time *5. structure6. agency7. purpose8. reader
Narrative explanation
• Set of events that is connected and complete (all the knowledge)
• Put events in sequence to create ‘a good story’
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
What the reader knows
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective goes to murder scene
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective gets background information
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective goes to second murder scene
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective gets more information
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective gets vital information
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective arrests suspect
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective reveals clever inferences at trial
Example – simple murder mystery
Murder story
Detective story
Detective explains final details over drinks
Example: An Inconvenient Truth
chapter 9
Al Gore discusses the concentration of CO2
Where can narrative apply?
appreciate
How science works
experimental
historical
Narrative explanation applies?
2-Dimensional Designs:diagrams, charts, pictures, tables
Two tasks
1. Represent information in 2-D design
2. Assist user in creating a sequence for exploring, interpreting and understanding the artefact
Representing information
Information can be coded with:• 2 dimensions of spacial represenetation:
up-down, left-right• illusory third dimension• “point” symbols with features
(size, colour, shape…)• “line” edges connecting points• 2 Dimensions of “small multiples”• Captions, labels
2-D Example:Map
• dimension: North-south• dimension: East-west• illusory dimension:
land/water/urban• points (town)• lines (highway)• labels (highway number)
Identify dimensions, points, lines,
labels
Huygens’ drawings of Saturn
Dimensions: up down, left right
Illusory dimension:
light dark
Small multiple: time
Dimensions “2 ½-D”: north-south, east-west,land/water, gas concentration
Lines: urban boundaries
Small multiple: gas
Small multiple: time
Designing symbols: lines and points
• Colour
• Size
• Shape
• Orientation
What features?
Illusory dimension:• Perspective• OrthographicSupporting illusion• Occlusion• Size• Colour/light
Guiding users
Help user to
• Scan
• Interpret
• Understand / “chunk”
ScanNon-linear format
1. Where to focus attention first?
– Cultural habits– Attractive symbol
2. Where to look next?– Cultural habits– Implied direction
Cultual habit-based on text sequence
-e.g., in western culture
Start at top left
Proceed left to right, top to bottom
ScanNon-linear format
1. Where to focus attention first?
– Cultural habits– Attractive symbol
2. Where to look next?– Cultural habits– Implied direction
By design
Attractive symbol
-(relative) features
-(relative) position
Implied direction
-relation to current focus
Scan – focus attention
Colour
Size
Shape
Orientation
Isolation
Complexity
Scan – next focus
InterpretDimensions and properties
are the vocabulary of the artefact
Help target audience attach meaning
•conventions, e.g., time as horizontal axis
•labels and legends
•implication by symbols (risky), e.g., ,
•emphasis, e.g., by size
Interpret
Understand
Reading the message in the artefact
•Repeated meaning in multiple forms
•Text captions:
•Instructive
•Descriptive
•Supplementary
•Amplifying
Understand
A diagram explaining how the power line in a home can be used to create a computer network
How is understanding facilitated?
Data graphs
• form – line, bar, ...
• format – colour, labels, grids, legends
• clutter – distraction, misinformation
You can make decent graphs with Excel.
Pioneer plaque