Graphical presentation of data for health policy decisions An exploratory online decision task experiment to measure effectiveness

摘要

This paper presents a method for using online, task-based experiments to test information presentations. It was designed to provide important information as a basis for further research which might be conducted in the context of healthcare policy making. A tabulated, numerical presentation of information for a simplified example of a cost-effectiveness decision task was compared to a presentation which also included graphical Isotype-style elements and vertical bars. The online study was accessed 244 times over a 36 day period. The data collected showed that the two presentation methods were largely similar in terms of average decision accuracy and time taken. However, performance was linked to the participants' preference for the presentations. The study recommends that online, task-based experiments can be used to compare information presentations, where a large number of people can be invited to take part.