Interactivity

Interactivity means controlling the parameters in the visualization reference model [...]. This naturally means that there are different types of interactivity, because the user could control the parameters to data transformations, to visual mappings, or to view transformations. It also means that there are different forms of interactivity based on the response cycle of the interaction.

[Card, 2008, p. 534]

Broadly speaking, interaction refers to a reciprocal active relationship—that is, action and reaction. The suffix ‘ity’ is used to form nouns that denote a quality or condition....interactivity refers to the quality of interaction between a user and a VT [visualization tool]...Interactivity at the micro level emerges from the structural elements of individual interactions. Interactivity at the macro level emerges from the combination of individual interactions to performtasks and activities.

[Sedig, Parsons, Dittmer, Haworth, 2013]

interactivity in VA [visual analytics] refers to the quality of interaction among the components that comprise a VA system. One current problem surrounding the discussion of interactivity is that researchers are not in agreement as to whether the locus of interactivity lies with the user or with the technology...This issue is important with VA systems, as the quality of interaction among the internal components as well as among the user and the system are essential. To address this issue we propose that interactivity in VA systems be categorized into two high-level components: external and internal interactivity. External interactivity refers to the quality of interaction among mental space, representation space, and interaction space. Internal interactivity refers to the quality of interaction among representation space, computing space, and information space.

[Sedig, Parsons, Babanski, 2012]

see also: Interaction

References

• [Card, 2008] Stuart Card, Information visualization, in A. Sears and J.A. Jacko (eds.), The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies, and Emerging Applications, Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc Inc, 2007.
• [Sedig, Parsons, Dittmer, Haworth, 2013]: Sedig, K., Parsons, P., Dittmer, M., & Haworth, R. (2013). Human–centered interactivity of visualization tools: Micro– and macro–level considerations. In W. Huang (Ed.), Handbook of Human-Centric Visualization (pp. 717–743). Springer, New York.[1]
• [Sedig, Parsons, Babanski, 2012]: Sedig, K., Parsons, P., & Babanski, A. (2012). Towards a characterization of interactivity in visual analytics. Journal of Multimedia Processing Technologies, Special Issue on Theory and Application of Visual Analytics, 3(1), 12–28.[2]