How Important Is the “Mental Map”? – An Empirical Investigation of a Dynamic Graph Layout Algorithm

Purchase, H. C. , Hoggan, E. and Görg, C. (2006) How Important Is the “Mental Map”? – An Empirical Investigation of a Dynamic Graph Layout Algorithm. In: Graph Drawing Conference, Karlsruhe, Germany, 18-20 Sept 2006, pp. 184-195. ISBN 9783540709039 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-70904-6_19)

Abstract

While some research has been performed on the human understanding of static graph layout algorithms, dynamic graph layout algorithms have only recently been developed sufficiently to enable similar investigations. This paper presents the first empirical analysis of a dynamic graph layout algorithm, focusing on the assumption that maintaining the “mental map” between time-slices assists with the comprehension of the evolving graph. The results confirm this assumption with respect to some categories of tasks.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Purchase, Dr Helen
• Authors: Purchase, H. C., Hoggan, E., and Görg, C.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• Publisher: LNCS, Springer Verlag
• ISBN: 9783540709039

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
40996	1	The Glasgow computing science research festival 2005	Muffy Calder	Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/D030110/1	Computing Science