Eyetrack III - Multimedia
The Eyes' View of Multimedia News Features
MULTIMEDIA
RESULTS ARTICLES
Now that we're in the broadband-Internet era, news websites can safely go
•Recall & beyond text and static images -- and many routinely do. Audio-narrated slide
comprehension shows, video, interactive animated info-graphics ... you'll find those and more
•Multimedia while surfing for news these days.
observations
The Eyetrack III researchers decided to take a through-the-eyes look at what
MORE EYETRACK III
people see and how they behave when they encounter multimedia news
RESULTS features. Our testing wasn't comprehensive; rather, it represents the beginning
•Overview of a more serious look at how to design multimedia editorial content so that
•All findings (PDF) viewers best find and comprehend the information contained.
Homepages:
•5 homepage designs
•Eye viewing patterns For this multimedia section of Eyetrack III, we conducted two exercises:
•Headlines & blurbs
•Headline size Multimedia Recall & Comprehension
•Font size
•Navigation
•Photos & images We took two multimedia features (from
•Compact & extended NYTimes.com) and created text-only versions.
pages Each of our testers viewed one multimedia
Other findings: feature and one text feature on different
•Advertising subjects, then we asked follow-up questions
•Article-page design to measure their recall of facts presented in
the features. We compared their performance.
And we tracked their eyes throughout the
INDUSTRY
REACTION test, so we could match comprehension with
•Jay Small: that data to determine whether they looked at
With homepages, it's the part of the page containing the answer.
polite to stare story>
•Jeff Glick:
When to tell stories
with multimedia, text
Observations on Multimedia News Features
•Kinsey Wilson:
Online ads: Why Next, we gave our test subjects a list of real-
placement & size world multimedia news features and 10
matter minutes to view whatever interested them.
The eyetracker rolled as we observed how
they interacted with the features they chose
to view. This informal test revealed interesting
observations and gave us clues about what to
test for in future multimedia-content
eyetracking studies. story>
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/multimedia.htm9/8/2004 6:28:07 AM
, Eyetrack III - Multimedia vs. Text Comprehension
Recall of Information Presented in Text vs. Multimedia
Findings in this
report: Format
•Names, places With many news organizations investing time, money, energy, and human
recalled better with text resources into online multimedia presentations, the Eyetrack III team was
•Process, procedures curious: Does the presentation of editorial content in multimedia format help
recalled best with readers understand and remember more story information?
multimedia
•Factual info recalled
best with text
EYETRACK III FINDINGS
•No gender difference This report is one of many from the Eyetrack III study of broadband-era news
in recall
websites.
•No statistically
significant difference in 46 people were tested for one hour each in December 2003 by Eyetools Inc. in
recall between text partnership with the Poynter Institute and the Estlow Center. During the test
and multimedia
period, each test subject viewed mock news websites created for research
•Tips
purposes and real-world multimedia news features. Results were published in
September 2004.
Add/view feedback
on multimedia
reports To put this concept to the test, we utilized two distinct story presentation
styles. With the help of NYTimes.com, we edited text versions of two news
stories to 3-5 minute reads. We then edited existing multimedia presentations
MORE MULTIMEDIA of these stories to a 3-5 minute experience. Here are links to the presentations
RESULTS ARTICLES
we used:
•Recall &
comprehension
•Multimedia "Dangerous Business" story:
observations
MORE EYETRACK III ● Text
RESULTS ● Multimedia
•Overview
•All findings (PDF)
Homepages: "Al Hirschfeld" story:
•5 homepage designs
•Eye viewing patterns
•Headlines & blurbs
● Text
•Headline size ● Multimedia
•Font size
•Navigation
Half of our test participants (approximately 25 people) experienced one of the
•Photos & images
stories in text and the other in multimedia. The other half of our participants
•Compact & extended
experienced the opposite formats. (They all saw a control article beforehand, as
pages
Other findings:
well.)
•Advertising
•Article-page design After they read or viewed a story, we gave the same recall quiz to both groups.
Here are links to copies of the quizzes:
● Dangerous Business recall quiz
● Al Hirschfeld recall quiz
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/multimediarecall.htm (1 of 10)9/8/2004 6:28:22 AM
The Eyes' View of Multimedia News Features
MULTIMEDIA
RESULTS ARTICLES
Now that we're in the broadband-Internet era, news websites can safely go
•Recall & beyond text and static images -- and many routinely do. Audio-narrated slide
comprehension shows, video, interactive animated info-graphics ... you'll find those and more
•Multimedia while surfing for news these days.
observations
The Eyetrack III researchers decided to take a through-the-eyes look at what
MORE EYETRACK III
people see and how they behave when they encounter multimedia news
RESULTS features. Our testing wasn't comprehensive; rather, it represents the beginning
•Overview of a more serious look at how to design multimedia editorial content so that
•All findings (PDF) viewers best find and comprehend the information contained.
Homepages:
•5 homepage designs
•Eye viewing patterns For this multimedia section of Eyetrack III, we conducted two exercises:
•Headlines & blurbs
•Headline size Multimedia Recall & Comprehension
•Font size
•Navigation
•Photos & images We took two multimedia features (from
•Compact & extended NYTimes.com) and created text-only versions.
pages Each of our testers viewed one multimedia
Other findings: feature and one text feature on different
•Advertising subjects, then we asked follow-up questions
•Article-page design to measure their recall of facts presented in
the features. We compared their performance.
And we tracked their eyes throughout the
INDUSTRY
REACTION test, so we could match comprehension with
•Jay Small: that data to determine whether they looked at
With homepages, it's the part of the page containing the answer.
polite to stare story>
•Jeff Glick:
When to tell stories
with multimedia, text
Observations on Multimedia News Features
•Kinsey Wilson:
Online ads: Why Next, we gave our test subjects a list of real-
placement & size world multimedia news features and 10
matter minutes to view whatever interested them.
The eyetracker rolled as we observed how
they interacted with the features they chose
to view. This informal test revealed interesting
observations and gave us clues about what to
test for in future multimedia-content
eyetracking studies. story>
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/multimedia.htm9/8/2004 6:28:07 AM
, Eyetrack III - Multimedia vs. Text Comprehension
Recall of Information Presented in Text vs. Multimedia
Findings in this
report: Format
•Names, places With many news organizations investing time, money, energy, and human
recalled better with text resources into online multimedia presentations, the Eyetrack III team was
•Process, procedures curious: Does the presentation of editorial content in multimedia format help
recalled best with readers understand and remember more story information?
multimedia
•Factual info recalled
best with text
EYETRACK III FINDINGS
•No gender difference This report is one of many from the Eyetrack III study of broadband-era news
in recall
websites.
•No statistically
significant difference in 46 people were tested for one hour each in December 2003 by Eyetools Inc. in
recall between text partnership with the Poynter Institute and the Estlow Center. During the test
and multimedia
period, each test subject viewed mock news websites created for research
•Tips
purposes and real-world multimedia news features. Results were published in
September 2004.
Add/view feedback
on multimedia
reports To put this concept to the test, we utilized two distinct story presentation
styles. With the help of NYTimes.com, we edited text versions of two news
stories to 3-5 minute reads. We then edited existing multimedia presentations
MORE MULTIMEDIA of these stories to a 3-5 minute experience. Here are links to the presentations
RESULTS ARTICLES
we used:
•Recall &
comprehension
•Multimedia "Dangerous Business" story:
observations
MORE EYETRACK III ● Text
RESULTS ● Multimedia
•Overview
•All findings (PDF)
Homepages: "Al Hirschfeld" story:
•5 homepage designs
•Eye viewing patterns
•Headlines & blurbs
● Text
•Headline size ● Multimedia
•Font size
•Navigation
Half of our test participants (approximately 25 people) experienced one of the
•Photos & images
stories in text and the other in multimedia. The other half of our participants
•Compact & extended
experienced the opposite formats. (They all saw a control article beforehand, as
pages
Other findings:
well.)
•Advertising
•Article-page design After they read or viewed a story, we gave the same recall quiz to both groups.
Here are links to copies of the quizzes:
● Dangerous Business recall quiz
● Al Hirschfeld recall quiz
http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/multimediarecall.htm (1 of 10)9/8/2004 6:28:22 AM
