Maps are crucial in conveying geospatial data in diverse contexts such as news and scientific reports. This research, utilizing thematic maps, probes deeper into the underexplored intersection of text framing and map types in influencing map interpretation. In this work, we conducted experiments to evaluate how textual detail and semantic content variations affect the quality of insights derived from map examination. We also explored the influence of explanatory annotations across different map types (e.g., choropleth, hexbin, isarithmic), base map details, and changing levels of spatial autocorrelation in the data. From two online experiments with $N=103$ participants, we found that annotations, their specific attributes, and map type used to present the data significantly shape the quality of takeaways. Notably, we found that the effectiveness of annotations hinges on their contextual integration. These findings offer valuable guidance to the visualization community for crafting impactful thematic geospatial representations.

翻译：地图在新闻和科学报告等多元场景中对于表达地理空间数据至关重要。本研究利用主题地图，深入探究文本框架与地图类型在影响地图解读中尚未被充分探索的交叉领域。我们通过实验评估了文本细节和语义内容变化如何影响从地图分析中获取洞见的质量。同时，我们还探讨了不同地图类型（如等值区域图、六边形分箱图、等值线图）中解释性标注、底图细节以及数据中空间自相关程度变化的影响。通过两项在线实验（参与者 $N=103$ 人），我们发现标注及其特定属性，以及用于呈现数据的地图类型，会显著影响理解内容的质量。值得注意的是，我们发现标注的有效性取决于其上下文整合程度。这些发现为可视化社区设计有影响力的主题地理空间表达提供了宝贵的指导。