Accommodating Individual Differences in Software Designed for Location-Based Survey Tasks

使用数字地图、图像和全球定位系统接收器来支持一系列实地调查活动被认为是一个在降低费用和提高国家调查数据质量方面具有潜在高回报的领域。但是，目前缺乏有效利用这些资源的适当调查方法。本研究的长期目标是开发一种理论基础但实用的方法来设计依赖地理空间资源的计算机辅助测量仪器，以支持基于位置的现场任务。该项目将为不同的基于位置的调查任务开发自然的决策模型，这些模型反映了个体差异（例如，空间能力）导致的策略多样性，并通过开发模型软件接口来适应使用计算机和集成环境和数字地理空间信息的策略变化，从而有助于实现这一目标。这项工作将从建立自然决策模型开始，以描述一项被称为地址验证的调查任务，该任务涉及评估地面上住房单元的位置是否准确地描绘在地图上。该模型将描述任务执行是如何随着个人能力的变化而变化的，比如空间对象的心理旋转、视角获取和空间记忆。该方法包括概述一个高层次的自然决策模型，以描述现场工作人员可用和选择的线索（信息），从这些信息中制定的假设（如果有的话），以及选择导致完成任务的行动。使用这个模板，将创建一系列更具体的模型来描述空间能力的变化如何影响决策过程。专家评估和基于现场的认知演练方法将用于进一步构建和完善模型。随着从这些决策建模调查中获得的理解，将为地址验证任务开发两个用户界面视图的模型。第一个用户界面视图将是一个基本界面，它提供所需的地图功能，而不考虑任何用户差异。第二个用户界面视图将被设计成一个使用我们在建模研究中学到的内容的包容性界面。与空间能力相关的领域行为变化信息（例如，偏好提示，地图使用，任务顺序）将用于创建包含用户界面视图的屏幕集。调查现场专家和认知心理学家将根据他们对现场工作人员行为的知识和经验来评估这些草案。这项研究是开发基于位置的调查现场任务的界面设计原则的迭代过程的重要第一步，这些任务依赖于包容性软件设计方法来适应个体差异。这项研究将对基础科学和应用科学作出若干实质性贡献。首先，该项目将开始发展一种理论方法，以便有效地将地理空间信息资源纳入计算机辅助的实地调查仪器。通过这一过程，自然主义决策理论将扩展到包括个体能力，特别是空间能力的异质性。此外，用户界面设计方法将被扩展到处理涉及科学协议的任务的地理空间数据上下文。研究的实际影响将体现在实地调查方面，实地业务效率将得到提高，国家统计基础设施和其他大规模调查的数据和调查估计数的质量将得到提高。本项目将为人机交互、计算机科学和统计学专业的学生提供跨学科和组织间研究合作的丰富经验。作为支持调查和统计方法研究的联合活动的一部分，该研究得到了方法、测量和统计计划和联邦统计机构联盟的支持。

The use of digital maps, imagery and global positioning system (GPS) receivers to support a range of field survey activities is perceived as an area that has potentially high payoff in terms of reduced costs and improved data quality for national surveys. At present, however, appropriate survey methods for effectively using these resources are lacking. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a theoretically grounded yet practical approach for designing computer-assisted survey instruments that rely on geospatial resources to support location-based field tasks. The project will contribute to this goal by developing naturalistic decision-making models for distinct location-based survey tasks that reflect the diversity of strategies that result from individual differences (e.g., in spatial ability), and by developing model software interfaces that accommodate variation in strategies for using computers and integrating environmental and digital geospatial information. The work will begin with building naturalistic decision-making models to describe a survey task referred to as address verification, which involves evaluating whether the location of a housing unit on the ground is accurately depicted on a map. The model will describe how task implementation varies in relation to individual abilities, such as mental rotation of spatial objects, perspective taking, and spatial memory. The approach involves outlining a high-level naturalistic decision-making model to describe cues (information) available to and selected by a field staff member, hypotheses (if any) that are formulated from this information, and the action selected that leads to completion of the task. Using this template, a series of more specific models will be created that describe how variation in spatial ability affects the decision-making process. Expert evaluation and field-based cognitive walk-through methods will be used to further build and refine models. With the understanding gained from these decision-modeling investigations, models of two user-interface views will be developed for the address verification task. The first user-interface view will be a basic interface that provides the required map functionality without taking any user differences into consideration. The second user-interface view will be designed to be an inclusive interface using what was learned in our modeling research. Information on variation in field behaviors (e.g., preferred cues, map use, task order) in relation to spatial ability will be used to create the set of screens for the inclusive user-interface views. Survey field experts and cognitive psychologists will evaluate these draft screens in relation to their knowledge and experience with field staff behaviors. This research is an important first step of an iterative process to develop interface design principles for location-based survey field tasks that rely on an inclusive software design approach to accommodate individual differences. This research will make several substantive contributions to both basic and applied science. First, the project will begin developing a theoretical approach for effectively incorporating geospatial information resources in computer-assisted instruments for field surveys. Through this process, naturalistic decision-making theory will be extended to include heterogeneity in individual abilities, specifically spatial ability. In addition, user interface design approaches will be broadened to handle the context of geospatial data for a task involving scientific protocols. The practical impact of the research will be felt in fielding surveys with improved field operations efficiency and enhanced quality of data and survey estimates for the national statistical infrastructure and other large-scale surveys. This project will provide students in human-computer interaction, computer science, and statistics with a substantive experience with interdisciplinary and inter-organizational research collaboration. The research is supported by the Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics Program and a consortium of federal statistical agencies as part of a joint activity to support research on survey and statistical methodology.