Systems and methods for improving concept landscape visualizations as a data analysis tool

• US 6,940,509 B1
• Filed: 09/29/2000
• Issued: 09/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
• Original Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
• Inventors: Crow, Vernon L., Calapristi, Augustin J., Saffer, Jeffrey D., Miller, Nancy E., Scarberry, Randall E.
• Primary Examiner(s): BRIER, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US09/675,515
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: 345/440, 345/441, 345467-4723, 345/618
• US Class Current: 345/440
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs

Abstract

Systems and methods provide several enhancements for the viewing, analysis, and generation of landscape views in a data analysis system, including: allowing a user to select from multiple methods to generate a landscape view, providing labels for peaks of a landscape, enabling the user to replace labels displayed on the landscape view, enabling a landscape view to be recalculated based on the replacement labels, and allowing a user to switch or morph between two landscape views generated by different methods. Such methods or systems generate graphical landscape map visualizations from a set of data records.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating visualizations from a set of data records, comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of data records;

creating vector representations of said data records;

enabling the user to select from a first generation method and a second generation method different from the first method, wherein each method is for generating a concept landscape visualization;

generating a first concept landscape visualization corresponding to said vector representations in response to selection of said first generation method; and

generating a second concept landscape visualization corresponding to said vector representations in response to selection of said second generation method, wherein the second visualization differs from the first visualization for the same said data records based on the selected method.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said first and second methods calculate peak height by different methods.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said first generation method comprises calculating the peak height based on a variable parameter.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said variable parameter is chosen from a user-defined list.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said variable parameter is based on the frequency of occurrence of a term from said data records.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein said variable parameter is automatically calculated.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein said second generation method comprises calculating said peak height based on the aggregate value of variable parameters.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said variable parameter is based on the frequency of occurrence of a term from said data records.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said second generation method comprises calculating peak height based on the aggregate value of variable parameters.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein first and second concept landscape visualizations are generated, and further comprising enabling a user to switch between the first and second visualizations to determine the influence of the first and second generation methods on said data records.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of enabling a user to switch comprises enabling a user see a morphed transition between the first and second visualizations when the user chooses to view a different visualization.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of creating vector representations includes generating a two-dimensional vector representation of said data records;

generating a two-dimensional map representation of said data records based on said two-dimensional vector representation; and

superimposing said two-dimensional map representation on either said first or second visualization.

13. A computer-implemented method for generating visualizations from a set of data records, comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of data records;

creating vector representations of said data records;

generating a concept landscape visualization of said data records corresponding to said vector representations, wherein the generating step includes selecting from different methods for generating different visualizations from the same said data records;

generating a two-dimensional map representation of said data records based on said vector representations; and

superimposing said two-dimensional map representation on said concept landscape visualization.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said two-dimensional map representation is a galaxy view.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the data records contain a plurality of terms and further comprising enabling the user to select terms used in calculating a surface height at points within the concept landscape visualization.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising enabling a user to select a region of interest in the concept landscape visualization.

17. A computer-implemented method for presenting graphics based on visualizations from a set of data records, comprising the steps of:

generating a concept landscape visualization of data records corresponding to the significance of the terms in the data records;

receiving a user command to display information associated with a certain region of the visualization;

in response said step of receiving, retrieving terms associated with the region and a numerical value associated with each term, where the value associated with each retrieved term represents the proportion of the entire region that the retrieved term represents;

generating a chart that displays the name of retrieved terms; and

associating displayed terms with a segment of the chart that represents the displayed term, wherein the size of each segment of the chart is proportional to the term'"'"'s representation in the region.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the displayed term is displayed in proximity to the corresponding segment.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the term'"'"'s representation is based on the frequency of occurrence of the term in the region.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the region is represented by a peak of the visualization.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the chart is a bar chart.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the segments are presented in decreasing order of magnitude of the value.