Abstract
The analysis of eye movement traces (i.e., the patterns of fixations in a search) is more complex than that of such parameters as mean fixation duration, and as a result, previous attempts have focused on a qualitative appraisal of the form of an eye movement trace. In this paper, the concept of thefixation map is introduced. Its application to the quantification of similarity of traces and the degree of coverage by fixations of a visual stimulus is discussed. The ability of fixation maps to aid in the understanding and communication of large numbers of eye movement traces is examined.
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The National Gallery “Telling Time” exhibit was conceived and constructed by David Wooding, Mark Mugglestone, Kevin Purdy, and Alastair Gale of the Applied Vision Research Unit, University of Derby. I am indebted to the members of the team for their helpful advice and encouragement in the preparation of this manuscript. The exhibit was conducted in cooperation with the National Gallery, London (exhibition curator, Alexander Sturgis) and with the support of Derby University Enterprises Limited (DUEL). The analysis of data was funded in part by the British Academy (Grant 31757).
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Wooding, D.S. Eye movements of large populations: II. Deriving regions of interest, coverage, and similarity using fixation maps. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 34, 518–528 (2002). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195481
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195481