Small-world social network visualisations
Salamon, Alicja (2016)
2016
Master's Degree Programme in Information Technology
Tieto- ja sähkötekniikan tiedekunta - Faculty of Computing and Electrical Engineering
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2016-11-09
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201610264649
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201610264649
Tiivistelmä
We live in a data driven age. Now, there is more data available than at any point in time before. However, the more data is made accessible, the more difficult it is to analyze it. Information visualisation is the art of representing data visually to help to deliver understanding of it.
This thesis studies visualisations of social network graphs. Its main objective is to research possible approaches to represent the users' social network on a mobile phone screen and allow them to traverse its graph. The design aims to support users with exploration of their social network and to enable them to discover unexpected information about its structure.
The work on the thesis consisted of a research and a design phase. Research was composed of a questionnaire about possible purposes of utilizing an access to a social network visualisation and participatory design sessions where participants took an active part in activities of body storming, card sorting and storyboarding.
Based on the gathered results, three visualisation approaches were proposed. The first one is based on a map view and focuses on showing the physical location of the users. In the second approach user traverses the graph by travelling from one point of view of the selected node to another. The last approach shows nodes grouped into six circles based on the length of a path needed to reach them.
The final outcome of a thesis demonstrates a possible answer to the addressed research questions and presents several appropriate ways of graphical representation for a social network graph that provides a captivating user experience and allows for exploration and discovery.
This thesis studies visualisations of social network graphs. Its main objective is to research possible approaches to represent the users' social network on a mobile phone screen and allow them to traverse its graph. The design aims to support users with exploration of their social network and to enable them to discover unexpected information about its structure.
The work on the thesis consisted of a research and a design phase. Research was composed of a questionnaire about possible purposes of utilizing an access to a social network visualisation and participatory design sessions where participants took an active part in activities of body storming, card sorting and storyboarding.
Based on the gathered results, three visualisation approaches were proposed. The first one is based on a map view and focuses on showing the physical location of the users. In the second approach user traverses the graph by travelling from one point of view of the selected node to another. The last approach shows nodes grouped into six circles based on the length of a path needed to reach them.
The final outcome of a thesis demonstrates a possible answer to the addressed research questions and presents several appropriate ways of graphical representation for a social network graph that provides a captivating user experience and allows for exploration and discovery.