Ask the Eyetrackers: Effect of Connection Speed

Q: What effect does connection speed have on the users? When I used to use dial-up, I would ignore sound or video clips connected to news stories, a habit which carried over even after I got a broadband connection (for a while, at least). It would be interesting to know what type of connection the testers were used to and break down the eyetrack results based on that.

Erica

A: We did not screen the Eyetrack III test participants for the connection speed they use most commonly. We did screen for online use, and selected only people who said that they went to an online news site or sites at least once a week.

In Section 1 of the testing procedure, the mock websites that our participants viewed did not contain any video or audio clips. The test environment included a fast Internet connection, so photos and graphics appeared very quickly.

In Section 2 of the testing, which dealt with comprehension of multimedia news features, participants were warned in advance about what was coming and were primed to pay close attention to the features -- because they knew they would be asked questions about what they saw.

In Section 3 of the testing, in which participants viewed a variety of real-world multimedia news features, again they were warned what to expect and were paying close attention.

Steve Outing, Eyetrack III co-project manager, Poynter senior editor

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