https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2260-9103
![Sample our Geography journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5937/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Geography.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Map legends are key elements of thematic maps and cartographic communication. The question of how to style map legends is a topic which has often been addressed by cartographic academics and practitioners. Nevertheless, the question of where to position a map legend has only hardly been discussed. Principles of cognitive sciences allow the assumption that a legend positioned to the right of a map field can be read and decoded faster than a legend on the left side. This study investigates the impact of legend positioning on legend decoding. It involves an experiment based on a recognition memory paradigm and the registration of eye-movements. The results show that, in less time, a legend positioned to the right of the map field (compared to a left legend) can be decoded faster. The same accuracy of a cognitive representation of geographic space can be achieved in spatial memory.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to give thanks to the open data initiatives Open.NRW and OpenStreetMap. The base maps in are created with freely accessible vector layer published by Open.NRW (district government of Cologne, Germany). The base maps in are taken from https://www.openstreetmap.de/ (© OpenStreetMap contributors).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributor
Dennis Edler is a senior lecturer of Cartography and GIS at the Geography Department of the Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB). His current research interests are related to cognitive cartography, experimental methods and multimedia cartography.
ORCID
Dennis Edler http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2260-9103
Julian Keil http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5284-2002
Anne-Kathrin Bestgen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4708-5470
Frank Dickmann http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9012-9419