Perception and presentation methods

In the past, data size and variety did not impose much of a challenge; therefore, perceiving and analyzing data was straightforward. Today there are large quantities of data in innumerable fields, and visualization can provide valuable assistance to humans for perceiving and interacting with visualization of the data. Human factors contribute significantly to the whole visualization process in order to better understand data and aid in decision-making tasks.

Visualization techniques can be categorized into two areas:

• Scientific visualization: This involves scientific data with an inherent physical entity

• Information visualization: This involves abstract data (spatial or non-spatial)

Most visualization systems are designed so that humans and computers can cooperate, each performing the following tasks:

• Visually representing data to enhance data analysis

• Visually displaying models, interpretations of data, ideas, hypotheses, and insight

• Helping users to improve...