December 1, 2014
Journal Article

The Human is the Loop: New Directions for Visual Analytics

Abstract

Visual analytics is the science of marrying interactive visualizations and analytic algorithms to support exploratory knowledge discovery in large datasets. We argue for a shift from a ‘human in the loop’ philosophy for visual analytics to a ‘human is the loop’ viewpoint, where the focus is on recognizing analysts’ work processes, and seamlessly fitting analytics into that existing interactive process. We survey a range of projects that provide visual analytic support contextually in the sensemaking loop, and outline a research agenda along with future challenges.

Revised: March 19, 2015 | Published: December 1, 2014

Citation

Endert A., S.H. Hossain, N. Ramakrishnan, C. North, P. Fiaux, and C. Andrews. 2014. The Human is the Loop: New Directions for Visual Analytics. Journal of Intelligent Information Systems 43, no. 3:411-435. PNNL-SA-91912. doi:10.1007/s10844-014-0304-9