Study of the effect of animation on websites on the information recall from text and visual attention
Scientific work
Realization time: July 2023
Team project
Realization time: July 2023
Team project
Project background
As part of our master's thesis, Hubert Malinowski and I decided to study the impact of animation on websites on the ability to remember information from text and visual attention. The use of animation on websites is a growing trend in popularity, and the study was conducted to see how website traffic affects the cognitive abilities of the audience and how animations can support the performance of digital products.
The study was conducted using an eye tracker to analyze data on respondents' visual attention.
Stages of the project
The stages of my work on the study included:
- compiling literature on animation,
- formulating research hypotheses,
- designing and developing web pages,
- developing forms for obtaining information,
- preparing the research scenario,
- conducting the survey,
- developing the survey results
- analysing the results and formulating conclusions,
- discussing the results and conduction of the survey.
As part of our master's thesis, Hubert Malinowski and I decided to study the impact of animation on websites on the ability to remember information from text and visual attention. The use of animation on websites is a growing trend in popularity, and the study was conducted to see how website traffic affects the cognitive abilities of the audience and how animations can support the performance of digital products.
The study was conducted using an eye tracker to analyze data on respondents' visual attention.
Stages of the project
The stages of my work on the study included:
- compiling literature on animation,
- formulating research hypotheses,
- designing and developing web pages,
- developing forms for obtaining information,
- preparing the research scenario,
- conducting the survey,
- developing the survey results
- analysing the results and formulating conclusions,
- discussing the results and conduction of the survey.
The study was conducted on a group of 39 people according to Solomon's experimental scheme. Two groups of subjects used a website with animations, and the other two used a website with static images.
The first version of the website for the study contained 5 paragraphs of text and 5 animations placed directly after each other alternating on the right and left sides. The layout generated a number of problems related to the display of several animations at the same time and the related inability to analyze their impact on the perception of the subjects separately. Another problem was the lack of control over the speed of page scrolling. The layout was abandoned and replaced in the next iteration of the project.
In the next iteration of the project, a layout was proposed in which one animation and one paragraph of text are displayed on the page simultaneously, and the user proceeds to the next stages of the study by clicking the "next page" button. This isolated the effect of individual animations on the subjects' perception and made it possible to measure how much time users spent reading a single text and how long each animation remained in their field of view.
Course of the study
The study was conducted in an eye-tracking laboratory. Respondents were asked to read 5 texts about different dinosaur species once and solve a test of knowledge from the text.
Data analysis
The survey form consisted of 20 test questions on the information provided in the survey text with 4 possible answers and 1 correct answer. Based on the respondents' answers, the groups using the page with animations were compared among themselves with the groups using the page with static images. Among other things, it was analyzed whether there was a significant difference :
- in the number of information remembered from the text between groups,
- in the time spent reading the text between groups,
- in the time spent viewing images/animations between groups,
- in the number of visits to images/animations between groups,
- in the number of memorized information on the page that is depicted in images versus not depicted among all subjects.
The study was conducted in an eye-tracking laboratory. Respondents were asked to read 5 texts about different dinosaur species once and solve a test of knowledge from the text.
Data analysis
The survey form consisted of 20 test questions on the information provided in the survey text with 4 possible answers and 1 correct answer. Based on the respondents' answers, the groups using the page with animations were compared among themselves with the groups using the page with static images. Among other things, it was analyzed whether there was a significant difference :
- in the number of information remembered from the text between groups,
- in the time spent reading the text between groups,
- in the time spent viewing images/animations between groups,
- in the number of visits to images/animations between groups,
- in the number of memorized information on the page that is depicted in images versus not depicted among all subjects.
Findings
The study confirmed that respondents spent more time viewing animations than graphics. Based on the results, it was concluded that if the goal is to increase the time of a visit to the site, it is worth using animations on the site instead of static images. Based on the results, it is also conjectured that the time spent viewing animations and graphics did not affect the number of correct answers in the form in any way.
The study confirmed that respondents spent more time viewing animations than graphics. Based on the results, it was concluded that if the goal is to increase the time of a visit to the site, it is worth using animations on the site instead of static images. Based on the results, it is also conjectured that the time spent viewing animations and graphics did not affect the number of correct answers in the form in any way.
Discussion
A number of themes can be developed from the collected data that were not the subject of this study, such as the effect of placing animations on the right or left side of the screen on user performance (Zhang, 2001). Several conjectures were formulated that would be worth reexamining by repeating the study on a larger research group.
A number of themes can be developed from the collected data that were not the subject of this study, such as the effect of placing animations on the right or left side of the screen on user performance (Zhang, 2001). Several conjectures were formulated that would be worth reexamining by repeating the study on a larger research group.
Contact
natalianitarska@gmail.com