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.本文介绍了一类名为嵌入图（embedded plots）的图形，其在分析大规模复杂数据集时尤为实用。嵌入图将多幅子图整合为一幅整体图形，可呈现常规单幅图形无法承载的复杂关联关系。该布局不仅拓展了可视化的坐标轴维度，还能避免绘图重叠（overplotting），并支持多层级的视觉汇总。此外，嵌入图可将复杂数据预处理为适配人类认知系统的形式，助力信息理解。本文通过案例研究阐释了嵌入图的实用价值，讨论了其在实践与认知层面的优势，并演示了如何在可视化软件中将嵌入图构建为通用图形类——这一功能目前尚未实现。本文附带在线补充材料。