Fields, Bridges, and Foundations: How Researchers Browse Citation Network Visualizations

TL;DR

This study investigates how researchers navigate citation network visualizations, revealing key patterns and preferences that impact the effectiveness of academic browsing tools.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new analysis of user browsing patterns in citation networks, emphasizing the importance of integrating layout and connection perspectives for better visualization design.

Findings

Connection-oriented approach is more reliable for identifying relevant papers.

Layout-oriented approach is more frequently used but can cause frustration.

Integrating components improves citation network navigation.

Abstract

Visualizing citation relations with network structures is widely used, but the visual complexity can make it challenging for individual researchers trying to navigate them. We collected data from 18 researchers with an interface that we designed using network simplification methods and analyzed how users browsed and identified important papers. Our analysis reveals six major patterns used for identifying papers of interest, which can be categorized into three key components: Fields, Bridges, and Foundations, each viewed from two distinct perspectives: layout-oriented and connection-oriented. The connection-oriented approach was found to be more reliable for selecting relevant papers, but the layout-oriented method was adopted more often, even though it led to unexpected results and user frustration. Our findings emphasize the importance of integrating these components and the necessity to balance visual layouts with meaningful connections to enhance the effectiveness of citation networks in academic browsing systems.