A visual analytics approach to dynamic social networks

  • Authors:

  • Paolo Federico;Wolfgang Aigner;Silvia Miksch;Florian Windhager;Lukas Zenk

  • Affiliations:

  • Vienna University of Technology, Austria;Vienna University of Technology, Austria;Vienna University of Technology, Austria;Danube University Krems, Austria;Danube University Krems, Austria

  • Venue:
  • i-KNOW '11 Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Technologies
  • Year:
  • 2011

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Abstract

The visualization and analysis of dynamic networks have become increasingly important in several fields, for instance sociology or economics. The dynamic and multi-relational nature of this data poses the challenge of understanding both its topological structure and how it changes over time. In this paper we propose a visual analytics approach for analyzing dynamic networks that integrates: a dynamic layout with user-controlled trade-off between stability and consistency; three temporal views based on different combinations of node-link diagrams (layer superimposition, layer juxtaposition, and two-and-a-half-dimensional view); the visualization of social network analysis metrics; and specific interaction techniques for tracking node trajectories and node connectivity over time. This integration of visual, interactive, and automatic methods supports the multi-faceted analysis of dynamically changing networks.