ABSTRACT
Topographic maps are the relatively familiar form of geographic maps in which elevation is represented by contour lines connecting locations of equal elevation. This chapter is concerned with how such maps are used for solving localization problems. However, before addressing specifically how topographic maps are used, it is worthwhile to consider such technological aids in the general context of navigation. The goal of analysis of the verbal protocols was to identify the kinds of information that map readers used in attacking this localization problem and to characterize the components of the problem-solving process itself, insofar as the method of protocol analysis permitted. The research was to identify strategies that experienced map readers use to solve localization problems and the kinds of features in the terrain and on the maps that are important in their solutions. The field study enabled the collection of protocols of experienced map readers solving a real drop-off localization problem.
