Observation and Measurement of Visual Attention and Acquisition of Information in the Users of Portuguese Electronic Newspapers. Studying the influence of visual composition in the process of message decoding based on the use of Eye Tracking technology. (original) (raw)

The goal of this research is to provide directors and editors of periodicals with a theoretically and experimentally valid scheme toward understanding the influence of visual composition as applied to reader selection, processing and memory retention of specific items on digital Portuguese newspaper pages, published on the World Wide Web. This project will study the various theoretical concepts related to this subject - visual composition, visual behaviour patterns in readers of electronic newspapers, and use Eye Tracking technology as a tool for optimising visual composition for efficiency in the transmission of content. That is, use of the Eye Tracker device will permit a highly accurate rendering of the relative importance of each element in a page layout, and readers visual interactions. Furthermore, with a view to establishing a parallel between a reader’s attention, information processing and retention of perceived elements, a cognitive evaluation test of the effect of the navigation experience will be done with each reader. Despite the daily use of electronic newspapers by the general public, we found a widespread ignorance on the part of the users about the visual composition and its importance to an optimal decoding of the messages published in newspapers. In Portugal, the lack of literature on the subject is a valid argument justifying the need for scientific studies to overcome public ignorance of both the academic scholars and the managers and editors of publications. On this basis, the main goal of this research is to determine the potential of visual composition as a vehicle for organizing the process of interaction between the user and the product. In this sense, we want, at first, to observe the pathways and the visual fixations of users of a set of general Portuguese electronic newspapers, in order to determine the patterns of visual appropriation and information processing of users. And, secondly, we want to, carry out an experimental investigation with the aim of checking if the strategies for organizing the graphic elements in the space of observation present different levels of attention and information processing.