The present paper describes the use of the think-aloud method to evaluate the usability of a cartographic work-the regional atlas of the Moravian-Silesian Region. The method aims to reveal the participants’ subjective attitudes toward a product in order to evaluate its usability. The participants are given a test scenario containing tasks to be completed. It is a method in which test participants verbalise all their thought processes aloud. However, it can also be used with cartographic products, an area which has been neglected up to now. The think-aloud method is a widely used method for evaluating the usability of websites and software. Future directions are suggested, along with the need for cartography to promote the valuable work done by researchers using eye-tracking for map use studies to the wider human-computer interaction community, expanding the scope of the geospatial-based stimuli in such experiments beyond maps, making use of the significant expertise and enthusiasm of cartographic researchers. Typical outcomes from eye tracking research are considered, with an assessment of its value in cartographic research in general. The role of eye-tracking as a major methodology for use, user, and usability investigation is explored along with the possible choices for the researcher in the important areas of participant selection, eye-tracking equipment, set-up and use of the testing environment, and analysis of output data. A brief outline of several different methodologies for map use research is presented: observation, thinking loud, keyboard analysis, eye-tracking, and questionnaires. Cartographic research is introduced, and its contemporary direction, which indicates that the main areas of such research are now focussed on human beings and their interaction with maps and geospatial displays, is stressed. This overview paper summarises the ‘state of the art and of the science’ of eye-tracking, and its applications in map use research.
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