Web based map services for scientific tourism: a case study of eighteenth and nineteenth century Edinburgh.

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to develop a web based map service for scientific tourism of eighteenth and nineteenth century Edinburgh. The service had the potential to be used for two key purposes: an educational guide and a virtual tourist guide. The key to satisfying such a broad target audience was to make the website as user-friendly as possible; a key focus of this project. Similar projects were researched and no services with the same theme were discovered; suggesting a gap in the market for such a resource.

Three prototypes were designed using structural site diagramming techniques and heuristic evaluations. The prototypes were developed in the form of web sites, which met the minimum standards for accessibility as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium guidelines. Technical skills were utilised to develop the prototypes, including the use of the Oracle RDMS, SQL, Perl, XML, JavaScript, The Google Maps API, XHML, HTML and CSS.

The prototypes included the basic Google Map functions and also multiple markers and information windows. Each prototype had a different interface, such as a clickable sidebar and a selection box, allowing the user to click on or select a site and be navigated to it on the map and also a text based version was developed. User evaluations of the prototypes were carried out in the form of a standard questionnaire; The Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction. A final product was built based on the outcome of the questionnaires and was evaluated using interviews.

The project succeeded in its aim and an attempt was made to improve the final product interface. Recommendations were also suggested on how to improve and extend the project.