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Tourism Data Visualization Study

Thank you for participating in this research study.

You are taking part in a study examining how different data visualizations support understanding of tourism data. You will be shown visualizations that display the same dataset but may differ in how the information is visually encoded.

What you will do

  • Carefully examine each visualization presented
  • Complete a series of tasks related to identifying patterns and outliers
  • Base your answers solely on the information shown in the visualization

Before you begin

  • This experiment is untimed — work at your own pace
  • There are no right or wrong opinions for preference-based questions
  • No prior knowledge of tourism data or data visualization is required

Your responses will be analyzed anonymously.

Demographics

Please tell us a little about yourself before we begin.

Age *
Major *
Have you taken a class in data visualization or statistics? *

Legend

Standard Scatter Plot Scroll to zoom · Drag to pan · Hover for details

Legend

Bubble Scatter Plot Scroll to zoom · Drag to pan · Hover for details

Participant Questionnaire

1) Name one country with high tourism expenditure. *
2) Overall trend: when tourist arrivals increase, tourism expenditure usually... *
3) Name one country that looks far away from most other points (an outlier) *

Tip: An outlier is a point that is noticeably separated from the main group of points.

4) Where are most countries grouped on the chart? *

Tip: A cluster means many points appearing close together in one area.

5) Do countries with larger populations generally attract more tourists? *
6) Name one country with a small population but high tourism expenditure. *
7) How easy was it to see overall patterns? (1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy) *
8) How easy was it to find outliers? (1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy) *
9) How easy was it to compare population differences? (1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy) *
1) Name one country with many tourist arrivals. *
2) Overall trend: when tourist arrivals increase, tourism expenditure usually... *
3) Name one country with low arrivals but high tourism expenditure. *
4) Do countries with larger populations generally attract more tourists? *
5) Did you notice any country where population size and arrivals do not seem to match? *
6) Name one country with a large population but few tourist arrivals. *
7) How easy was it to see overall patterns? (1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy) *
8) How easy was it to find outliers? (1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy) *
9) How easy was it to compare population differences? (1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy) *
1) Which chart was better for seeing the trend between arrivals and expenditure? *
2) Which chart was better for spotting outliers? *
3) Which chart was better for understanding population differences? *
4) Which chart felt more cluttered or harder to read? *
5) If you could only use one chart, which would you choose? *
1) Briefly explain your chart preference above. (1–2 sentences) *
2) Was there anything confusing about either visualization? (1–2 sentences) *

Thank You!

Your responses have been recorded successfully.

About This Study

This study compares two types of scatter plot visualizations — Standard Scatter Plot and Bubble Scatter Plot — to understand how each supports pattern recognition, outlier detection, and multi-variable data exploration in tourism data.

What We Measured

  • Pattern recognition — How easily you identified trends between tourist arrivals and expenditure
  • Outlier detection — How easily you spotted countries that deviate from the general pattern
  • Population insight — How effectively each chart helped you understand the role of population size
  • Perceived difficulty — Your self-reported ease of completing each task

What You Should Know

  • The first question in each condition was a warm-up question designed to help you familiarize yourself with the chart before the main tasks.
  • The order of conditions (Standard first vs. Bubble first) was systematically alternated across participants to ensure fairness.
  • The Standard Scatter Plot shows two variables (arrivals × expenditure), while the Bubble Scatter Plot adds a third variable (population) encoded as bubble size. Both charts provided population data via tooltips on hover.

Research Question

We are investigating how visualization design influences users’ ability to identify patterns and outliers in tourism data.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact the research team. Thank you again for your participation.

1

Visualization Area
This is where the chart is displayed. You can scroll to zoom, drag to pan, and hover over points for details.

2

Legend
Shows countries by region. Click to filter, or use the search box to find a country.

3

Questions
Answer each question based on the chart. Use the Next button to proceed.

Ephraim Teodoro & Hyun Kim. 2026 All rights reserved.