View source for Insight

{{Definition|We define an '''insight''' as an individual observation about the data by the participant, a unit of discovery. <br>[Saraiya et al., 2005]}}

{{Quotation|Insight: The capacity to discern the true nature of a situation; The act or outcome of grasping the inward or hidden nature of things or of perceiving in an intuitive manner.|[Merriam-Webster]}}

{{Quotation|The Gestalt psychologists also introduced the idea that restructuring is associated with [[insight]]--sudden realization of the problem's solution.|[Goldstein, 2005]}}


Important characteristics of insight in [[Information Visualization]] as defined by [[North, Chris|Chris North]]:
{{Quotation|'''Complex.''' Insight is complex, involving all or large amounts of the given data in a synergistic way, not simply individual data values.<br>'''Deep.''' Insight builds up over time, accumulating and building on itself to create depth. Insight often generates further questions and, hence, further insight.<br>'''Qualitative.''' Insight is not exact, can be uncertain and subjective, and can have multiple levels of resolusion.<br>'''Unexpected.''' Insight is often unpredictable, serendipitous, and creative.<br>'''Relevant.''' Insight is deeply embedded in the data domain, connecting the data to existing domain knowledge and giving it relevant meaning. It goes beyond dry data analysis, to relevant domain impact.|[North, 2006]}}


see [[Knowledge Discovery]] for an explanation of the relationship between [[Data]], [[Information]], [[Insight]], [[Model]], [[Pattern]], [[Hypothesis]], [[Knowledge]] and [[Knowledge Crystallization]].

== References ==
*[Goldstein, 2005] Goldstein, Bruce. Cognitive Psychology, Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.
*[North, 2006] Chris North, Toward Measuring Visualization Insight. ''IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications''', 26(3):6-9, 2006.
*[Saraiya et al., 2005] Purvi Saraiya, Chris North, and Karen Duca, An Insight-Based Methodology for Evaluating Bioinformatics Visualizations, ''IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics'', 11(4):443-456,  July/August 2005.

[[Category: Glossary]]