Visuo-Cognitive Cartography, A New Tool for the Analysis of Eye-Tracking Data

This paper proposes visuo-cognitive cartography (CVK) as a new method for the study of human visual interaction. The method discusses a way of characterizing visual strategies through the construction of a complex system of n-dimensional vector spaces that allows a multi-scale analysis (micro, meso and macro) of the instrumentalization processes in different visual interaction situations. To test this method, we used the raw eye movement data of 32 subjects collected during a reading task in a laboratory experience. In the present paper we present the logic of the data pre-processing pipeline for the construction of this cartography of visual and related cognitive strategies as also some possibilities in terms of analysis. The macroanalysis evidences the applicability for cognitive ergonomics and the studies of artifactual interaction with texts. The main findings highlight the potential of CVK and its metrics to analyze a wide range of visuo-cognitive strategies and the value for facilitate the application of statistical techniques for inter- and intra-subject analysis.