Study confirms text more of a lure than pictures

Further research carried out by the Poynter Institute and Stanford University has confirmed earlier results from the Eyetracking Study showing that text proves more of a lure to internet users than graphics.

The study findings have proved highly controversial since interim results were published on the Poynter website in May this year. Critics pointed out that the results contradict generally accepted wisdom that graphics represent key entry points for readers of printed material.

Researchers from Poynter and Stanford have carried out further in-depth analysis and stand by the interim findings, however. 'It makes sense that new rules apply to a new medium,' says Poynter fellow Adrew DeVigal who conducted the on-site research for the study.

'As a user interface designer and visual journalist I too, was surprised by the findings, especially in an interactive medium that attempts to heighten the user's experience through the integrated display of text, photos, video, and animated graphics.'

The Poynter-Stanford study used special eye-tracking equipment and recorded the way 67 internet users scanned pages. The latest analysis has looked at how these users viewed 168 pages containing both graphics and text.

The researchers recorded where the volunteers' eyes fixed on each page and found again that text was a preferred entry point. The team recorded the first three eye fixations for each volunteer on each page and found that only 22% of those fell on a page graphic.

'Because our research did not evaluate the quality of graphics or text displayed on the pages studied, it's impossible to determine what prompted the subjects to prefer text as starting points,' says Professor of Communications at Stanford University Marion Lewenstein.

Both Stanford and Poynter stress that the research should be used by the design community as a 'reality check' to indicate how websites can be improved.

Lewenstein says the study shows that 'absorption' of information takes place beyond the area considered to be within an eye-fixation. This means it may be possible that artwork is 'perceived' even if the eye fails to fix on it directly.

Furthermore, Andrew DeVigal argues that photos remain 'essential' to good site design and that fundamental lessons can be learned from the study results. According to DeVigal, the Stanford Poynter Project show that editors and designers should:

• improve headlines and briefs as these are most often the first point of entry for internet users;

• choose graphics and photos specifically for use online rather than simply re-using them from print editions;

• construct pages so users should be able to access information more quickly than on printed formats;

• cut down or refine animations in banner ads as users seldom look at these ads for longer than a second or two.

DeVigal suggests that it may be appropriate to offer two versions of the same story. 'A high-end graphically intense presentation and one that is bare bones and designed with both wireless and low-end computers in mind. The challenge would then shift from simply presenting information to editing the information appropriate to the medium.'

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