A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization

Joseph Kotlarek; Oh-Hyun Kwon; Kwan-Liu Ma; Peter Eades; Andreas Kerren; Karsten Klein; Falk Schreiber

doi:10.1109/PacificVis48177.2020.4722

A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization

Joseph Kotlarek, Oh-Hyun Kwon, Kwan-Liu Ma, Peter Eades, Andreas Kerren, Karsten Klein, Falk Schreiber

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The visualization of a network influences the quality of the mental map that the viewer develops to understand the network. In this study, we investigate the effects of a 3D immersive visualization environment compared to a traditional 2D desktop environment on the comprehension of a network's structure. We compare the two visualization environments using three tasks - interpreting network structure, memorizing a set of nodes, and identifying the structural changes - commonly used for evaluating the quality of a mental map in network visualization. The results show that participants were able to interpret network structure more accurately when viewing the network in an immersive environment, particularly for larger networks. However, we found that 2D visualizations performed better than immersive visualization for tasks that required spatial memory.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2020 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis)
Subtitle of host publication	Tianjin, China, 14–17 April, 2020, Proceedings
Editors	Fabian Beck, Jinwook Seo, Chaoli Wang
Place of Publication	Piscataway NJ USA
Publisher	IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Pages	1-10
Number of pages	10
ISBN (Electronic)	9781728156972
ISBN (Print)	9781728156989
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/PacificVis48177.2020.4722
Publication status	Published - 2020
Externally published	Yes
Event	IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium 2020 - Tianjin, China Duration: 3 Jun 2020 → 5 Jun 2020 Conference number: 13th https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/9082508/proceeding (Proceedings) http://vis.tju.edu.cn/pvis2020/ (Website)

Publication series

Name	IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium
Publisher	IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Volume	2020-June
ISSN (Print)	2165-8765
ISSN (Electronic)	2165-8773

Conference

Conference	IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium 2020
Abbreviated title	PacificVis 2020
Country/Territory	China
City	Tianjin
Period	3/06/20 → 5/06/20
Internet address	https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/9082508/proceeding (Proceedings) http://vis.tju.edu.cn/pvis2020/ (Website)

Keywords

Empirical studies in visualization
Graph drawings
Human-centered computing
Visualization
Visualization techniques

Access to Document

10.1109/PacificVis48177.2020.4722

Cite this

Kotlarek, J., Kwon, O.-H., Ma, K.-L., Eades, P., Kerren, A., Klein, K., & Schreiber, F. (2020). A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization. In F. Beck, J. Seo, & C. Wang (Eds.), 2020 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis): Tianjin, China, 14–17 April, 2020, Proceedings (pp. 1-10). (IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium; Vol. 2020-June). IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1109/PacificVis48177.2020.4722

Kotlarek, Joseph ; Kwon, Oh-Hyun ; Ma, Kwan-Liu et al. / A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization. 2020 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis): Tianjin, China, 14–17 April, 2020, Proceedings. editor / Fabian Beck ; Jinwook Seo ; Chaoli Wang. Piscataway NJ USA : IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2020. pp. 1-10 (IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium).

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title = "A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization",

abstract = "The visualization of a network influences the quality of the mental map that the viewer develops to understand the network. In this study, we investigate the effects of a 3D immersive visualization environment compared to a traditional 2D desktop environment on the comprehension of a network's structure. We compare the two visualization environments using three tasks - interpreting network structure, memorizing a set of nodes, and identifying the structural changes - commonly used for evaluating the quality of a mental map in network visualization. The results show that participants were able to interpret network structure more accurately when viewing the network in an immersive environment, particularly for larger networks. However, we found that 2D visualizations performed better than immersive visualization for tasks that required spatial memory.",

keywords = "Empirical studies in visualization, Graph drawings, Human-centered computing, Visualization, Visualization techniques",

author = "Joseph Kotlarek and Oh-Hyun Kwon and Kwan-Liu Ma and Peter Eades and Andreas Kerren and Karsten Klein and Falk Schreiber",

year = "2020",

doi = "10.1109/PacificVis48177.2020.4722",

language = "English",

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editor = "Fabian Beck and Jinwook Seo and Chaoli Wang",

booktitle = "2020 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis)",

address = "United States of America",

note = "IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium 2020, PacificVis 2020 ; Conference date: 03-06-2020 Through 05-06-2020",

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Kotlarek, J, Kwon, O-H, Ma, K-L, Eades, P, Kerren, A, Klein, K & Schreiber, F 2020, A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization. in F Beck, J Seo & C Wang (eds), 2020 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis): Tianjin, China, 14–17 April, 2020, Proceedings. IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium, vol. 2020-June, IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Piscataway NJ USA, pp. 1-10, IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium 2020, Tianjin, China, 3/06/20. https://doi.org/10.1109/PacificVis48177.2020.4722

A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization. / Kotlarek, Joseph; Kwon, Oh-Hyun; Ma, Kwan-Liu et al.
2020 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis): Tianjin, China, 14–17 April, 2020, Proceedings. ed. / Fabian Beck; Jinwook Seo; Chaoli Wang. Piscataway NJ USA: IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2020. p. 1-10 (IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium; Vol. 2020-June).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

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AU - Eades, Peter

AU - Kerren, Andreas

AU - Klein, Karsten

AU - Schreiber, Falk

N1 - Conference code: 13th

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AB - The visualization of a network influences the quality of the mental map that the viewer develops to understand the network. In this study, we investigate the effects of a 3D immersive visualization environment compared to a traditional 2D desktop environment on the comprehension of a network's structure. We compare the two visualization environments using three tasks - interpreting network structure, memorizing a set of nodes, and identifying the structural changes - commonly used for evaluating the quality of a mental map in network visualization. The results show that participants were able to interpret network structure more accurately when viewing the network in an immersive environment, particularly for larger networks. However, we found that 2D visualizations performed better than immersive visualization for tasks that required spatial memory.

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Kotlarek J, Kwon OH, Ma KL, Eades P, Kerren A, Klein K et al. A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization. In Beck F, Seo J, Wang C, editors, 2020 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis): Tianjin, China, 14–17 April, 2020, Proceedings. Piscataway NJ USA: IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 2020. p. 1-10. (IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium). doi: 10.1109/PacificVis48177.2020.4722

A study of mental maps in immersive network visualization

Abstract

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Keywords

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