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“Isms” in Visualization

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Foundations of Data Visualization

Abstract

In visualization, there are many different wisdoms and opinions about why visualization works, what makes a good visualization, and how to design and evaluate visualization. Collectively these wisdoms and options have shaped a landscape of the schools of thought in the field of visualization. In this chapter, we examine various schools of thought in visualization, juxtaposing them with schools of thought in computer science and psychology. We deliberate the possibility that some schools of thought in computer science and psychology may have influenced those in visualization. Based on our observation of the development of schools of thought in the discipline of psychology, we believe that it is the empirical evidence that informs the development of theories, which are often embedded in some schools of thought. Meanwhile, empirical studies have a crucial role in visualization to inform and validate postulated theories.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Professor Hans-Christian Hege, Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB), Germany, for some insightful discussions during the Dagstuhl Seminar 18041 on Foundations of Data Visualization in January 2018. The authors also appreciate very much the comments and suggestions made by Professor Helwig Hauser, University of Bergen, Norway, and have revised the early version accordingly.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Min Chen

  2. Swansea University, Swansea, UK

    Darren J. Edwards

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  1. Min Chen
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Correspondence to Min Chen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Min Chen

  2. Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Helwig Hauser

  3. University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Penny Rheingans

  4. Institut für Informatik, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Gerik Scheuermann

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Chen, M., Edwards, D.J. (2020). “Isms” in Visualization. In: Chen, M., Hauser, H., Rheingans, P., Scheuermann, G. (eds) Foundations of Data Visualization. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34444-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34444-3_11

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