arriving in 4-5 years: visual data analysis

• 
• Tweet

I just came across the new term I have not encountered before - "visual data analysis." It describes perfectly what we are doing in our lab. In other words, cultural analytics can be also understood as an application of visual data analysis to humanities.


"Visual data analysis blends highly advanced computational methods with sophisticated graphics engines to tap the extraordinary ability of humans to see patterns and structure in even the most complex visual presentations. Currently applied to massive, heterogeneous, and dynamic datasets, such as those generated in studies of astrophysical, fluidic, biological, and other complex processes, the techniques have become sophisticated enough to allow the interactive manipulation of variables in real time. Ultra high-resolution displays allow teams of researchers to zoom in to examine specific aspects of the renderings, or to navigate along interesting visual pathways, following their intuitions and even hunches to see where they may lead. New research is now beginning to apply these sorts of tools to the social sciences and humanities as well, and the techniques offer considerable promise in helping us understand complex social processes like learning, political and organizational change, and the diffusion of knowledge."

(source: http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2010/chapters/visual-data-analysis/)