The Senators Problem: A Design Space of Node1 Placement Methods for Geospatial Network Visualization
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Mardia, Arnav
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Geographic network visualizations often require assigning nodes to geographic coordinates, but this can be challenging when precise node locations are undefined. This thesis explores this problem using the U.S. senators as a case study. Each state has two senators making it difficult to assign clear individual locations. We devise eight different node placement strategies ranging from geometric approaches such as state centroids and longest axis midpoints to data-driven methods using population centers and home office locations. Through expert evaluation, we found that specific coordinates such as senators’ office locations and state centroids are preferred strategies, while random placements and the longest axis method are least favored. The findings also highlight the importance of aligning node placement with research goals and avoiding potentially misleading encodings. This thesis contributes to future advancements in geospatial network visualization software development and aims to facilitate more effective exploratory spatial data analysis.
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Undergraduate Research Option Thesis