Displaying error & uncertainty in auditory graphs
Jared M. Batterman, Bruce N. Walker · 2012
Clear representation of uncertainty or error is crucial in graphs and other displays of data. Error bars are quite common in visual graphs, even though they are not necessarily well-designed, and often are not well understood, even by those who use them often (e.g., scientists, engineers). There has been little study of how to represent uncertainty in auditory graphs, such as those used increasingly by students and scientists with vision impairment. This study used conceptual magnitude estimation to determine how well different auditory dimensions (frequency, tempo) can represent error and uncertainty. The results will lead to more effective auditory displays of quantitative information and data.