Interfaces to a Statistical Knowledge Network

	Interface 2003
	March 14, 2003
	Salt Lake City
	Gary Marchionini
	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
	march@ils.unc.edu

Context

	NSF Digital Government Program
	Cooperative research grant 2002-2005
		UNC-CH EIA 0131824
		UMD-CP EIA 0129978
		BLS, EIA, NASS, SSA, Census, NCHS
	User interfaces as the glue in a SKN
	Audience: Novice/casual end users
	See http://www.ils.unc.edu/govstat

Statistical Knowledge Network

	Information resources
	Tools for collecting, finding, using, and managing statistical information
	People and processes that gather, analyze, manage, and report statistical information
	Concept-based rather than file-based.

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The Challenges

	Massive volumes of federal, state, and local statistical information=> need for good filtering support.
	Federal, state, and local statistical providers use a variety of standards, formats, terminology, and practices for collecting and disseminating statistics=> need for metadata interoperation.
	The full population includes people with diverse user needs, experiences, and technological platforms=> need for multiple, alternative solutions.
	The level of statistical/numerical literacy in the population is generally low=> need for online help and support.

Multi-faceted Attack

	User Needs: Scenarios
	Metadata
	Information architecture
		Manual (both agency and user centered)
		Automatic
	Vocabulary & Concepts
	Help

Manual IA: How to Slice and Dice?

Automatic Slicing and Dicing

	Automatic classification
		Crawl website(s)
		Create reduced term-document matrix
		Cluster (various)
		Label clusters
	Apply labels and documents to different views (slices/dices)
	Evaluate

Vocabulary & Concepts

	Statistical Ontology (see also Hovy)
		Concepts mapped to metadata
	Interactive Statistical Glossary
		Simple and extended textual definitions
		Graphical explanations
		Animated explanations
		Links to experts and community
		Context dependent, core set of terms, hover or click mechanisms, video or Flash explanations for specific numbers (in text or in tables)

Index Concept: CPI Example

Index Concept: Octane Rating Example

New Approaches to Online Help in Public Access Information Systems

	Multilayered Interfaces
		Levels
		Modules
	Integrated Initial Guidance
		Sticky notes
	Animated and Video Demos
			Recorded with voice

Sticky Notes

Animated Demos

	Create script (much easier for specific activities than for concepts)
	Record vignette (5-15 seconds)
	Add effects and voice over
	Package and link

Link to other services

	FAQ
	Glossary (where applicable)
	Email experts at agencies
	Post to community
	Chat with shared browser

Example Interactive Interfaces

	Relation Browsers (Simple and Advanced)
	Interactive Maps (Spatial Browsers)
	Free Link Browsers (Network Browsers)

Relation Browser Legacy

Multiple Iterations

	Several usability studies
	Multiple database upgrades
	Separate results and exploration to preserve screen real estate
	Implementations for several kinds of data

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Movie Library (10K at UNC)

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Visual Information Browser

Dynamic Choropleth Map

Default view of EIA

Control Panel Options

Natural Gas ‘View’

4 Link View with EIA at center

Future Work

	Refine and test prototypes
		Relation Browser & Visual Interface
		Statistical Glossary & Domain Ontologies
		Multi-layer designs
	Continue multi-faceted attack on categorization (slicing)
	Integration progress
		Metadata hunt continues
		Promote universal usability
		Develop common metric of success
		Incorporate more state and local resources