Extraneous information and graph comprehension: Implications for effective design choices

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine if university students could accurately extract information from graphs presented in 2D or 3D formats with different colour hue variations or solid black and white.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants are presented with 2D and 3D bar and pie charts in a PowerPoint presentation and are asked to extract specific information from the displays. A three (question difficulty) × two (graph type) × two (dimension) × two (colour) repeated measures ANOVA is conducted for both accuracy and reaction time.

Findings

Overall, 2D graphs led to better comprehension, particularly when complex information was presented. Accuracy was similar for colour and black and white graphs.

Practical implications

These results suggest that 2D graphs are preferable to 3D graphs, particularly when the task requires that the reader extract complex information.

Originality/value

For the past several decades, diagrams have been valuable additions to textual explanations in textbooks and in the classroom to teach various concepts. With an increase in technological advancements, many authors add extraneous features to their graphs to make them more aesthetically pleasing. This paper has shown, however, that 3D rendering may negatively affect graph comprehension.

Citation

Stewart, B.M., Cipolla, J.M. and Best, L.A. (2009), "Extraneous information and graph comprehension: Implications for effective design choices", Campus-Wide Information Systems, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 191-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650740910967375