VLAT: Development of a Visualization Literacy Assessment Test.

Area of Science:

• Information Visualization
• Educational Measurement
• Data Visualization

Background:

• The Information Visualization community recognizes the importance of visualization literacy.
• A lack of standardized instruments for measuring user visualization literacy hinders research.
• Existing assessment tools are insufficient for evaluating non-expert users.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically develop and validate a Visualization Literacy Assessment Test (VLAT) for non-expert users.
• To provide a reliable instrument for measuring visualization literacy in the context of data visualization.
• To explore the relationship between visualization literacy and the aptitude for learning new visualizations.

Main Methods:

• The study followed established procedures in Psychological and Educational Measurement for test development.
• Methods included Test Blueprint Construction, Item Generation, Content Validity Evaluation, Test Tryout, Item Analysis, Item Selection, and Reliability Evaluation.
• The VLAT comprises 12 data visualizations and 53 multiple-choice items covering eight data visualization tasks.

Main Results:

• The VLAT demonstrated strong content validity, with domain experts evaluating item essentialness (average content validity ratio = 0.66).
• The test showed high reliability (reliability coefficient omega = 0.76) after a tryout with 191 participants.
• A significant positive correlation (correlation coefficient = 0.64) was found between visualization literacy and aptitude for learning unfamiliar visualizations.

Conclusions:

• The developed Visualization Literacy Assessment Test (VLAT) is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing non-expert users' visualization literacy.
• The VLAT can be used to understand individual differences in data visualization comprehension and learning potential.
• Further research can explore the application of the VLAT in educational settings and its implications for improving data visualization instruction.