A Focus + Context Technique for Visualizing a Document Collection

Investigative analysts need overviews of large amounts of data, which is a challenge when working with non-numerical data such as document collections. We present Semantic Zoom View (SZV), an interactive document collection visualization implemented as part of the CZSaw visual analytics system. SZV uses a focus + context technique to provide an overview with details on demand through interactive semantic zooming. SZV lets an analyst easily and quickly see the main topics of a document collection while keeping surrounding documents visible for context. Working within a single integrated visualization, an analyst can also quickly find related documents and break a large document collection into smaller meaningful groups. SZV´s focus + context technique was compared to an overview + detail version for finding answers within a document collection and results indicated its strength for maintaining visibility of a full overview when document contents are accessed.