Abstract data

Abstract data refers to (heterogenous) data that has no inherent spatial structure; thus it does not allow for a straightforward mapping to any geometry, but relies upon means provided by information visualization for its visual representation.

Information visualization is visualization of abstract data. This is data that has no inherent mapping to space. Examples for abstract data are the results of a survey or a database of the staff of a company containing names, addresses, salary and other attributes.

[Voigt, 2002]

Therefore creating a virtual reality (VR) is essential to visualizing abstract data. To allow intuitive understanding and to find wide acceptance, virtual spaces will be based on a real–world analogue that intuitively (or preattentively) supports human cognitive abilities.

References

• [Daessler, 1995]: Rolf Daessler, Visualization of Abstract Information, 1995.
• [Voigt, 2002]: Robert Voigt, Classification and Definition of Terms, 2002.