A Survey on Annotations in Information Visualization: Empirical Insights, Applications, and Challenges

TL;DR

This survey comprehensively reviews the role, impact, tools, and challenges of annotations in information visualization, emphasizing their importance in user engagement and understanding.

Contribution

It provides an extensive overview of empirical studies, tools, applications, and research gaps related to annotations in data visualization.

Findings

Annotations improve user engagement and comprehension.

Various tools and techniques for creating annotations are analyzed.

Research gaps and future directions are identified.

Abstract

We present a comprehensive survey on the use of annotations in information visualizations, highlighting their crucial role in improving audience understanding and engagement with visual data. Our investigation encompasses empirical studies on annotations, showcasing their impact on user engagement, interaction, comprehension, and memorability across various contexts. We also study the existing tools and techniques for creating annotations and their diverse applications, enhancing the understanding of both practical and theoretical aspects of annotations in data visualization. Additionally, we identify existing research gaps and propose potential future research directions, making our survey a valuable resource for researchers, visualization designers, and practitioners by providing a thorough understanding of the application of annotations in visualization.