Resolution Control for Balancing Overview and Detail in Multivariate Spatial Analysis

Abstract

Parallel coordinates, re-orderable matrices, and dendrograms, widely used methods for visual exploration of multivariate data, are systematically integrated in a complementary manner for supporting multi-resolution visual data analysis with an enhanced overview + detail exploratory strategy. There are three main topics: (1) dynamic control across resolutions at which data are explored; (2) coordination and color mapping among the views; and (3) enhanced features of each view designed for the overview + detail exploratory tasks. A case study analysis is used to demonstrate the potential for boosting productivity for exploration tasks by coordinating the views through user-controlled resolutions within a highly interactive analysis environment. The case study is focused on a complex, geographically referenced dataset including public health, demographic and environmental components.