The effects of motion and hierarchical layout on viewers' perceptions of graph structure

Cathleen McGrath and Jim Blythe
Journal of Social Structure, vol. 5, number 2, 2004.

Abstract

In this study, we explore the combined effects of layout and motion on viewers' perceptions of social network data. We ask viewers to interpret the overall network and we ask domain specific questions about managing change within a departmental team to understand how network display influences viewers' overall perception of networks. We find that motion has a positive effect on the accuracy of viewers' perceptions of change in status from formal to informal networks. We also find no main effect for hierarchical versus spatially central layout on viewers' accuracy. There is a significant interaction effect of motion and graph layout on viewers perception of change. Finally, we find that when viewers are asked to make interpretations of the overall graph, they bring their own pre-existing graphical vocabulary that may influence their interpretation.

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PDF preprint.

New: We were invited to include the applet used in this article in an exhibition at Ars Electronica 2004, called "language of networks". The updated version, which explores different ways to show changes in links, is here.


Jim Blythe