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This seems like a great method for ad hoc visualizations of multi-dimensional and graph-structured data. I could see building a tool that allows a user to pick

by jbl 16y ago

This seems like a great method for ad hoc visualizations of multi-dimensional and graph-structured data. I could see building a tool that allows a user to pick a few dimensions and toggle between different orderings. That said, I wish the authors had not used/brought up the notion of "visual analytics". Visualizations are great exploratory and illustrative tools, but I believe they leave much to be desired when it comes to doing the actual work of analysis. When looking for explanations --- particularly in large datasets --- is it not better to define some objective criteria which one can measure, rather than relying on easily tricked visual cues?

jrwoodruff 16y ago
Often a diagram like this can help spot problem areas or patterns that otherwise could go unnoticed. I would say a visualization like this would/could be the first step in analysis of a complex problem, followed up by a detailed analyisis of objective criteria...
- jbl 16y ago
  Yep. I totally agree. I guess I've always thought of exploratory work as being a distinct part of analysis projects. That's why I tried to say that I think this would work as a great exploratory tool.
cscheid 16y ago
You're right that it is a problem, but defining objective criteria before knowing exactly what it is that you're looking for is potentially just as bad. This is part of the reason folks like Tukey defended statistical graphics early on: exploratory data analysis is tremendously important, and it's rare that you would know exactly what you're looking for. Also, this problem of making sure what you're seeing is actually in the data is one that researchers are actively working on! There's a paper due to come out at a top visualization conference on the relation between formal hypothesis testing and visualizations which goes to the heart of your "easily tricked visual cues" comment. It's not currently available (and I'm not a co-author), but if you're interested, be on the lookout for "Graphical Inference for InfoVis"
- jbl 16y ago
  Yep. Been there, done that. :-D I didn't mean that exploratory analysis is not important, just that it's a distinct part of data analysis and only the beginning. That paper sounds cool. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

by jbl 16y ago

jrwoodruff 16y ago

Often a diagram like this can help spot problem areas or patterns that otherwise could go unnoticed. I would say a visualization like this would/could be the first step in analysis of a complex problem, followed up by a detailed analyisis of objective criteria...

jbl 16y ago
Yep. I totally agree. I guess I've always thought of exploratory work as being a distinct part of analysis projects. That's why I tried to say that I think this would work as a great exploratory tool.

cscheid 16y ago

You're right that it is a problem, but defining objective criteria before knowing exactly what it is that you're looking for is potentially just as bad. This is part of the reason folks like Tukey defended statistical graphics early on: exploratory data analysis is tremendously important, and it's rare that you would know exactly what you're looking for. Also, this problem of making sure what you're seeing is actually in the data is one that researchers are actively working on! There's a paper due to come out at a top visualization conference on the relation between formal hypothesis testing and visualizations which goes to the heart of your "easily tricked visual cues" comment. It's not currently available (and I'm not a co-author), but if you're interested, be on the lookout for "Graphical Inference for InfoVis"

jbl 16y ago
Yep. Been there, done that. :-D I didn't mean that exploratory analysis is not important, just that it's a distinct part of data analysis and only the beginning. That paper sounds cool. I'm looking forward to checking it out.