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