A design framework exploratory geovisualization in epidemiology

This paper presents a design framework for geographic visualization based on iterative evaluations of a toolkit designed to support cancer epidemiology. The Exploratory Spatio-Temporal Analysis Toolkit (ESTAT), is intended to support visual exploration through multivariate health data. Its purpose is to provide epidemiologists with the ability to generate new hypotheses or further refine those they may already have. Through an iterative user-centered design process, ESTAT has been evaluated by epidemiologists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Results of these evaluations are discussed, and a design framework based on evaluation evidence is presented. The framework provides specific recommendations and considerations for the design and development of a geovisualization toolkit for epidemiology. Its basic structure provides a model for future design and evaluation efforts in information visualization.

[1]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Usability engineering , 1997, The Computer Science and Engineering Handbook.

[2]  Chris North,et al.  An Evaluation of Microarray Visualization Tools for Biological Insight , 2004 .

[3]  Kimberly A. Neuendorf,et al.  The Content Analysis Guidebook , 2001 .

[4]  Gennady Andrienko,et al.  Testing the Usability of Interactive Maps in CommonGIS , 2002 .

[5]  Judy M. Olson,et al.  SPECTRALLY ENCODED TWO-VARIABLE MAPS∗ , 1981 .

[6]  Mark Gahegan,et al.  GeoVISTA studio: a codeless visual programming environment for geoscientific data analysis and visualization , 2002 .

[7]  Diansheng Guo,et al.  Coordinating Computational and Visual Approaches for Interactive Feature Selection and Multivariate Clustering , 2003, Inf. Vis..

[8]  Jonathan C. Roberts,et al.  Exploratory Visualization with Multiple Linked Views , 2004 .

[9]  J. Eyton,et al.  Complementary‐Color, Two‐Variable Maps , 1984 .

[10]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction , 1998 .

[11]  K. A. Ericsson,et al.  Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data , 1984 .

[12]  Dominique Brodbeck,et al.  Visualization of large-scale customer satisfaction surveys using a parallel coordinate tree , 2003, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization 2003 (IEEE Cat. No.03TH8714).

[13]  Mordechai Haklay,et al.  Usability evaluation and PPGIS: towards a user-centred design approach , 2003, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[14]  Catherine Plaisant,et al.  The challenge of information visualization evaluation , 2004, AVI.

[15]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Chapter 4 – The Usability Engineering Lifecycle , 1993 .

[16]  Youngihn Kho,et al.  GeoDa: An Introduction to Spatial Data Analysis , 2006 .

[17]  Colin Potts,et al.  Design of Everyday Things , 1988 .

[18]  S. Martin,et al.  A system for visualizing time varying oceanographic 3D data , 2004, Oceans '04 MTS/IEEE Techno-Ocean '04 (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37600).

[19]  Telecommunications Board,et al.  IT Roadmap to a Geospatial Future , 2003 .

[20]  Robert M. Edsall,et al.  Design and Usability of an Enhanced Geographic Information System for Exploration of Multivariate Health Statistics , 2003, The Professional Geographer.

[21]  Daniel C. Cliburn,et al.  Evaluating the Usability of a Tool for Visualizing the Uncertainty of the Future Global Water Balance , 2003 .

[22]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  New Approaches to Help Users Get Started with Visual Interfaces: Multi-Layered Interfaces and Integrated Initial Guidance , 2003, DG.O.

[23]  Chris North,et al.  Empirical comparison of dynamic query sliders and brushing histograms , 2003, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization 2003 (IEEE Cat. No.03TH8714).

[24]  Jin Chen,et al.  Combining Usability Techniques to Design Geovisualization Tools for Epidemiology , 2005, Cartography and geographic information science.

[25]  Daniel R. Montello,et al.  Testing the First Law of Cognitive Geography on Point-Display Spatializations , 2003, COSIT.

[26]  Jeremy W. Crampton,et al.  Interactivity Types in Geographic Visualization , 2002 .

[27]  D. White,et al.  Conditioned Choropleth Maps and Hypothesis Generation , 2005 .

[28]  David Howard,et al.  Interface Design for Geographic Visualization: Tools for Representing Reliability , 1996 .

[29]  Colin Ware,et al.  GeoZui3D: data fusion for interpreting oceanographic data , 2001, MTS/IEEE Oceans 2001. An Ocean Odyssey. Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.01CH37295).

[30]  Alan M. MacEachren,et al.  Case study: design and assessment of an enhanced geographic information system for exploration of multivariate health statistics , 2001, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization, 2001. INFOVIS 2001..

[31]  Alan M. MacEachren,et al.  Project highlight: quality graphics for statistical summaries , 2005, DG.O.

[32]  B. Iacopetta Are there two sides to colorectal cancer? , 2002, International journal of cancer.

[33]  R. Kryscio,et al.  Patterns of Colorectal Cancer Incidence, Risk Factors, and Screening in Kentucky , 2004, Southern medical journal.

[34]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Designing the user interface (2nd ed.): strategies for effective human-computer interaction , 1992 .

[35]  Deborah Hix,et al.  User-Centered Design and Evaluation of Virtual Environments , 1999, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[36]  Alfred Inselberg,et al.  The plane with parallel coordinates , 1985, The Visual Computer.

[37]  Trudy A. Suchan Usability Studies of Geovisualization Software in the Workplace , 2002, DG.O.