Visualizing Complexity in Networks : Seeing Both the Forest and the Trees

Visualization of complex relational information has become increasingly important as complex data and computational power have become more available to social network researchers. Common sources of relational complexity include change over time, multiple relationships, network size, and network density. The most useful method for displaying complex data often depends upon the source of complexity and the nature of the information to be learned. In this paper, we explore the use of motion, especially for representation of change over time and relationship. Also, using data from a large Wall Street investment bank, we demonstrate several strategies to represent complex relational data in two-dimensions.