SemanticTours: A Conceptual Framework for Non-Linear, Knowledge Graph-Driven Data Tours

TL;DR

SemanticTours introduces a graph-based, non-linear approach to data exploration that enhances analytical reasoning in knowledge-centric domains like law, overcoming the limitations of traditional linear tours.

Contribution

It presents a novel semantic, graph-based model for interactive tours that allows non-linear navigation and hypothesis refinement in complex, knowledge-rich datasets.

Findings

Domain experts found graph-based tours better support reasoning.

The model effectively connects data via semantic relationships.

Evaluation demonstrates improved analytical support.

Abstract

Interactive tours help users explore datasets and provide onboarding. They rely on a linear sequence of views, showing a curated set of relevant data selections and introduce user interfaces. Existing frameworks of tours, however, often do not allow for branching and refining hypotheses outside of a rigid sequence, which is important in knowledge-centric domains such as law. For example, lawyers performing analytical case analysis need to iteratively weigh up different legal norms and construct strings of arguments. To address this gap, we propose SemanticTours, a semantic, graph-based model of tours that shifts from a sequence-based towards a graph-based navigation. Our model constructs a domain-specific knowledge graph that connects data elements based on user-definable semantic relationships. These relationships enable non-linear graph navigation that defines tours. We apply SemanticTours to the domain of law and conceptualize a visual analytics design and interaction concept for analytical reasoning in legal case analysis. Our concept accounts for the inherent complexity of graph-based tours using aggregated graph nodes and supporting navigation with a semantic lens. During an evaluation with six domain experts from law, they suggest that graph-based tours better support their analytical reasoning than sequences. Our work opens research opportunities for such tours to support analytical reasoning in law and other knowledge-centric domains.