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Wellformedness Properties in Euler Diagrams: Which Should Be Used?
July 2012 (vol. 18 no. 7)
pp. 1089-1100
ASCII Text
x 
 
P. Rodgers, Leishi Zhang, H. Purchase, "Wellformedness Properties in Euler Diagrams: Which Should Be Used?," IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 1089-1100, July, 2012.
 
 
BibTex
x
 
@article{ 10.1109/TVCG.2011.143,
author = {P. Rodgers and Leishi Zhang and H. Purchase},
title = {Wellformedness Properties in Euler Diagrams: Which Should Be Used?},
journal ={IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics},
volume = {18},
number = {7},
issn = {1077-2626},
year = {2012},
pages = {1089-1100},
doi = {http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TVCG.2011.143},
publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA},
}
 
 
RefWorks Procite/RefMan/Endnote
x 
 
TY - JOUR
JO - IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
TI - Wellformedness Properties in Euler Diagrams: Which Should Be Used?
IS - 7
SN - 1077-2626
SP1089
EP1100
EPD - 1089-1100
A1 - P. Rodgers,
A1 - Leishi Zhang,
A1 - H. Purchase,
PY - 2012
KW - data visualisation
KW - automated drawing systems
KW - wellformedness properties
KW - Euler diagrams
KW - intersecting data sets visualization
KW - criminology
KW - genetics
KW - medicine
KW - computer file systems
KW - comprehension
KW - student enrollment visualization
KW - university modules
KW - brushing points
KW - human diagram designers
KW - Handheld computers
KW - Decision support systems
KW - information visualization.
KW - Euler diagrams
KW - Venn diagrams
KW - empirical studies
VL - 18
JA - IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
ER -
 
P. Rodgers, Sch. of Comput., Univ. of Kent, Canterbury, UK
Leishi Zhang, Fachbereich Inf. und Informationswissenschaft, Univ. Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
H. Purchase, Sch. of Comput. Sci., Univ. of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
Euler diagrams are often used to visualize intersecting data sets in applications such as criminology; genetics, medicine, and computer file systems. One interesting aspect of these diagrams is that some data sets cannot be drawn without breaking one or more "wellformedness properties,” which are considered to reduce the user comprehension of the diagrams. However, it is possible to draw the same data with different diagrams, each of which breaks different wellformedness properties. Hence, some properties are "swappable,” so motivating the study of which of the alternatives would be best to use. This paper reports on the two empirical studies to determine how wellformedness properties affect comprehension. One study was with abstract data, the other was with concrete data that visualized students' enrollment on university modules. We have results from both studies that imply that diagrams with concurrency or disconnected zones perform less well than other some other properties. Further, we have no results that imply that diagrams with brushing points adversely affect performance. Our data also indicate that nonsimple curves are preferred less than diagrams with other properties. These results will inform both human diagram designers and the developers of automated drawing systems on the best way to visualize data using Euler diagrams.

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Index Terms:
data visualisation,automated drawing systems,wellformedness properties,Euler diagrams,intersecting data sets visualization,criminology,genetics,medicine,computer file systems,comprehension,student enrollment visualization,university modules,brushing points,human diagram designers,Handheld computers,Decision support systems,information visualization.,Euler diagrams,Venn diagrams,empirical studies
Citation:
P. Rodgers, Leishi Zhang, H. Purchase, "Wellformedness Properties in Euler Diagrams: Which Should Be Used?," IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 1089-1100, July 2012, doi:10.1109/TVCG.2011.143
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