New from BookNet Canada for 2024: BNC CataList - Tech Forum 2024
How Information Visualization Novices Construct Visualizations
1. How Information Visualization
Novices Construct Visualizations
Lars Grammel, Melanie Tory and Margaret-Anne Storey
University of Victoria
27-Oct-2010
3. 3
Can we design a data analysis
user interface that everyone
can just use without facing a
major learning barrier?
4. 4
How do InfoVis novices*
construct visualizations during
visual data exploration?
* InfoVis Novices: Those who are not familiar with InfoVis and visual data analysis
beyond the charts and graphics encountered in everyday life.
Card, Mackinlay, Shneiderman 1999
6. Study Design
Exploratory study in
laboratory setting
9 participants (3rd/4th year
business students)
Data Exploration Phase
– 45 minutes
– Open exploration task
Follow-up Interview
6
Participant’s Workspace
Mediator’s Workspace
7. Qualitative Data Analysis
Videos and Screencasts
– Transcription
– Iterative coding
– 3-5 passes
– Single coder
– Developed, refined and
consolidated codes
Interviews
– Transcription
– Support, Explanation
Focus on construction, not
insights 7
Participant’s Workspace
Mediator’s Workspace
19. Partial Specification
Participants omitted visual mappings,
operators, visual template, data attributes for concepts,
level of abstraction for time, etc.
Miller 1981, Pane et al. 2001
19
20. Partial Specification
Omitted information could often be inferred
– Visual mappings from visualization templates
– Current analysis session state
– Data values implying data attributes
– Matching structure and type of selected data
attributes and visualization properties
20
21. Strong Preference for Familiar Visualizations
21
Ranking before study:
Usage in study: 70%
Subjective Preference:
22. Implications for Tool Design
Suggesting visualizations
Heer et al 2008, Casner 1990, Mackinlay 1986, Mackinlay, Hanrahan, Stole 2007…
Supporting iterative specification
Weaver et al 2006, Pretorius, van Wijk 2009
Dealing with partial specification
Providing explanations and supporting learning
22
23. Dealing with Partial Specification
Defaults Heer, van Ham, Carpendale, Weaver, Isenberg 2008
– From task context
– From data set
– From analysis session context
Inference
– Data values data attributes
– Semantic concepts data attributes
– Visual structure + data structure mappings
23
24. Explanations and Learning Support
What is displayed? Heer, van Ham, Carpendale, Weaver, Isenberg 2008
Why is it displayed?
Enable learning.
What problems might exist?
Suggest solutions.
24
26. How do InfoVis novices construct
visualizations during visual data
exploration?
Partial Specification
Visualization Templates
Preferred Familiar Visualizations
Lars Grammel
lars.grammel@gmail.com
This research was funded by: