Dataset Information

Quilt plots: a simple tool for the visualisation of large epidemiological data.

ABSTRACT: Graphical representation of data is one of the most easily comprehended forms of explanation. The current study describes a simple visualization tool which may allow greater understanding of medical and epidemiological data.We propose a simple use of an existing tool for visualization of data, known as a ''quilt plot'' (also defined as "heat maps"), that provides an alternative to presenting large volumes of data as frequency tables [corrected]. Data from the Australian Needle and Syringe Program survey are used to illustrate "quilt plots".Visualization of large volumes of data using "quilt plots" enhances interpretation of medical and epidemiological data. Such intuitive presentations are particularly useful for the rapid assessment of problems in the data which cannot be readily identified by manual review. We recommend that, where possible, "quilt plots" be used along with traditional quantitative assessments of the data as an explanatory data analysis tool.

SUBMITTER: Wand H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3890282 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Quilt plots: a simple tool for the visualisation of large epidemiological data.

Wand Handan H Iversen Jenny J Law Matthew M Maher Lisa L

PloS one 20140113 1

<h4>Background</h4>Graphical representation of data is one of the most easily comprehended forms of explanation. The current study describes a simple visualization tool which may allow greater understanding of medical and epidemiological data.<h4>Method</h4>We propose a simple use of an existing tool for visualization of data, known as a ''quilt plot'' (also defined as "heat maps"), that provides an alternative to presenting large volumes of data as frequency tables [corrected]. Data from the Au ...[more]

PMID: 24454789

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe amount of plant data such as taxonomical classification, morphological characteristics, ecological attributes and geological distribution in textual and image forms has increased rapidly due to emerging research and technologies. Therefore, it is crucial for experts as well as the public to discern meaningful relationships from this vast amount of data using appropriate methods. The data are often presented in lengthy texts and tables, which make gaining new insights difficult. The study proposes a visual-based representation to display data to users in a meaningful way. This method emphasises the relationships between different data sets.MethodThis study involves four main steps which translate text-based results from Extensible Markup Language (XML) serialisation format into graphs. The four steps include: (1) conversion of ontological dataset as graph model data; (2) query from graph model data; (3) transformation of text-based results in XML serialisation format into a graphical form; and (4) display of results to the user via a graphical user interface (GUI). Ontological data for plants and samples of trees and shrubs were used as the dataset to demonstrate how plant-based data could be integrated into the proposed data visualisation.ResultsA visualisation system named plant visualisation system was developed. This system provides a GUI that enables users to perform the query process, as well as a graphical viewer to display the results of the query in the form of a network graph. The efficiency of the developed visualisation system was measured by performing two types of user evaluations: a usability heuristics evaluation, and a query and visualisation evaluation.DiscussionThe relationships between the data were visualised, enabling the users to easily infer the knowledge and correlations between data. The results from the user evaluation show that the proposed visualisation system is suitable for both expert and novice users, with or without computer skills. This technique demonstrates the practicability of using a computer assisted-tool by providing cognitive analysis for understanding relationships between data. Therefore, the results benefit not only botanists, but also novice users, especially those that are interested to know more about plants.

Dataset Information

Quilt plots: a simple tool for the visualisation of large epidemiological data.

Publications

Quilt plots: a simple tool for the visualisation of large epidemiological data.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets