An eye tracking study of viewing behaviour and preferences of Arabic, English and Chinese users

Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate possible variations in visual behaviour and eye movements on webpages among users from three different cultures (Arab, English and Chinese). The paper reports an experiment using eye tracking technique and questionnaire to understand how users from different countries fixate on webpages with different layouts and which type of layout they preferred. Thirty users from each group were exposed to three types of webpage (image-based, text-based and a webpage with unfamiliar design). The results indicated similarities and differences in fixations between the three cultural groups. Dissimilar scanning patterns were exhibited from each group. This study also revealed differences in preferences across Arab, English and Chinese users. This study contributes to the field of Human Computer Interaction by providing new insights into the similarities and differences between the users from the Middle East, the West and the Far East from the perspective of visual behaviour and preferences.