Refinery: Visual Exploration of Large, Heterogeneous Networks through Associative Browsing
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Eurographics Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Abstract
Browsing is a fundamental aspect of exploratory information-seeking. Associative browsing represents a common and intuitive set of exploratory strategies in which users step iteratively from familiar to novel bits of information. In this paper, we examine associative browsing as a strategy for bottom-up exploration of large, heterogeneous networks. We present Refinery, an interactive visualization system informed by guidelines for associative browsing drawn from literature on exploratory information-seeking. These guidelines motivate Refinery's query model, which allows users to simply and expressively construct queries using heterogeneous sets of nodes. This system computes degree-of-interest scores for associated content using a fast, random-walk algorithm. Refinery visualizes query nodes within a subgraph of results, providing explanatory context, facilitating serendipitous discovery, and stimulating continued exploration. A study of 12 academic researchers using Refinery to browse publication data demonstrates how the system enables discovery of valuable new content, even within existing areas of expertise.
Description
@article{10.1111:cgf.12642,
journal = {Computer Graphics Forum},
title = {{Refinery: Visual Exploration of Large, Heterogeneous Networks through Associative Browsing}},
author = {Kairam, Sanjay and Henry-Riche, Nathalie and Drucker, Steven and Fernandez, Roland and Heer, Jeffrey},
year = {2015},
publisher = {The Eurographics Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.},
DOI = {10.1111/cgf.12642}
}