From Specific Information Extraction to Inferences: A Hierarchical Framework of Graph Comprehension

We examined how graph readers extracted specific information, integrated information and made inferences from choropleth graphs. We present a hierarchical framework of graph comprehension suggesting how graph readers extract these different types of information. Our framework suggests the cognitive operations required to extract these different types of information build in a hierarchical fashion as the complexity of the type of extraction increases. Empirical data gathered in our laboratory is reviewed in support of our hierarchical framework and implications are discussed.