INTERACTIVE VISUALIZATION SYSTEMS FOR NARRATIVE-DRIVEN DATA EXPLORATION AND COMMUNICATION

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering


PhD Thesis Defence


Title: "INTERACTIVE VISUALIZATION SYSTEMS FOR NARRATIVE-DRIVEN DATA EXPLORATION
AND COMMUNICATION"

By

Mr. Wenchao LI


Abstract:

In today's data-driven world, the ability to explore and communicate complex
data insights effectively has become increasingly crucial. Data analysts are
required not only to extract valuable insights from complex data but also to
present data stories efficiently that cater to different needs, ultimately
fostering informed decision-making. While narrative elements are indispensable
for creating a compelling and engaging story, their impact can be amplified by
incorporating them into the data analysis and presentation processes.

The thesis proposal harnesses the concepts of the narrative elements (such as
plot, theme, and dialogue) and contributes new models and interaction designs
that power interactive visualization systems for data exploration and
communication. Specifically, the thesis proposal introduces semi-automatic data
tours inspired by the narrative structure and presents NetworkNarratives to aid
the exploration of complex network data. With NetworkNarratives, an analyst can
freely explore the network and specify nodes, links, or subgraphs as seed
elements for follow-up tours. For data communication, the thesis proposal
investigates different narrative purposes for a set of adaptive camera shots
and proposes GeoCamera that allows users to flexibly design camera movements
for geographic visualizations. GeoCamera aims to lower the barrier of crafting
diverse camera movements for geographic data videos. Narrator is a
human-machine collaborative system with a natural language interface to
simplify the process of authoring network data stories. By leveraging the
concept of dialogue in narrative elements, Narrator contains an interactive
recommendation pipeline between the user and the system, enabling users to
progressively construct visual data stories with the visualization
recommendation and user feedback loop.

By incorporating different narrative elements into data analysis and data story
creation, this thesis proposal seeks to improve the efficiency of exploring and
communicating complex data. The role of narrative elements explored and the
design considerations distilled from the interactive systems could shed light
on novel techniques for bridging the gap between raw data and human
understanding.


Date:                   Friday, 25 August 2023

Time:                   2:30pm - 4:30pm

Venue:                  Room 5501
                        lifts 25/26

Chairperson:            Prof. Michael ALTMAN (PHYS)

Committee Members:      Prof. Huamin QU (Supervisor)
                        Prof. Xiaojuan MA
                        Prof. Nevin ZHANG
                        Prof. David YIP (EMIA)
                        Prof. Kwan-Liu MA (Univ of California)


**** ALL are Welcome ****