Data Visualization: Preference and Use of Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Graphs

This study considered the interplay of simple versus perspective graphical information on aesthetic preference, instructional effectiveness, and retention. Students in an introductory U.S. government course were presented with examples of 2-D and 3-D graphs and asked to choose which was pleasing to the eye and which was most useful in answering questions about the graph's content. The results of this study indicated that when visual appeal was the only criterion, subject choices overall were approximately evenly matched. When subjects were required to extract information from graphs, they used simple graphs almost 3 times more often than elaborate graphs. Information drawn from bar and circle graphs was extracted more accurately than the other three types of graphs.