Visualizing Complex Data With Embedded Plots

This article describes a class of graphs, embedded plots, that are particularly useful for analyzing large and complex datasets. Embedded plots organize a collection of graphs into a larger graphic, which can display more complex relationships than would otherwise be possible. This arrangement provides additional axes, prevents overplotting, and allows for multiple levels of visual summarization. Embedded plots also preprocess complex data into a form suitable for the human cognitive system, which can facilitate comprehension. We illustrate the usefulness of embedded plots with a case study, discuss the practical and cognitive advantages of embedded plots, and demonstrate how to implement embedded plots as a general class within visualization software, something currently unavailable. This article has supplementary material online.