When do you use linear layout for information representation and when do you use tabular one?

Question

I have been wondering which is easier for users to process - linear layout for information representation or tabular one?

An example: on a Contact Us page on a web site you have the following modules of information: "address", "office hours", "convenient transport" and "phones".

You could display them either in a linerar list or within a table format.

I have personal observations advocating either approach. I have found that some people get overwhelmed and confused by seeing it all one page (that is, the table format) - they do not know where to start from. After all, the human mind can process only piece of information at a time.

On the other hand, some other people seem to get lost in the linear format (they say too much scrolling) and they seem to find it harder to skim.

I can guess that it may boild down to people of various perception types, or the quantity of information, or whether the main task is navigating or reading in depth. But these are all guesses. Is there any research or detailed article on this?

Similar questions:

• Is it better to represent simple labeled information as table or just text with subheadings?
• Columns or Rows: Showing data in grids or lists

Answer 1

I think it (the design pattern) largely depends on the amount of items in the list. This article from Nielsen Norman Group might help

Expandable Menus: Pull-Down, Square, or Pie?

Answer 2

short answer it all depends on various elements. for platform specific like mobile and constrained spaces, continuous form would be better especially if there are only few elements within each group.

for huge number of elements, the norm and practice is to group them accordingly and minimize the complexities. the table or tab format comes into play.

long answer, you have to iterate and find out with number of experiments and know your audience. do your pre-built testing and see how easy it is or is it sensible. another factor that would make impact is your final design. with the use of spaces lines, color, shadows, etc would make or break the form.