With the increasing amount of data available, it is important to be able to represent large collections from a wide range of domains in forms that more readily convey embedded information. The human sense of vision is a powerful tool for pattern recognition - this sense can be harnessed via multimedia interactive presentations. This unit will examine the fundamental principles of information visualisation and the range of tools and methods which are available to represent large data sets. These techniques can be applied across a wide range of fields including geographical, medical, statistical and scientific visualisation. The unit will examine in detail the visualisation of geospatial data in GIS (Geographic Information Systems).
Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:
(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:
(b.) Additional requirements (all students):
See also Unit timetable information
Completion of 12 points at level 2 from FIT
Derrick Martin
Consultation hours: Wednesday 10-2
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
Previous feedback highlighted that the nature of the overall content as well as assignments was a strength of the unit. Students in the previous offering suggested tightening the the lab/tutorial classes to be more focused and explicit, rather than broader and exploratory in nature. As a consequence lab/tutorial exercises have been modified to provide more opportunity for explicit and tangible visualisation example outcomes.
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 | |
| 1 | Information Visualisation Introduction: A History of Information Visualisation & Information Visualisation Primer | Weekly Contribution to Discussions are ongoing. Comments are expected to be made weekly. |
| 2 | Types of Data: Quantitative, Qualitative & Links Between Data Sets | |
| 3 | Information Visualisation Techniques 1: Types of Visualisations | |
| 4 | Information Visualisation Techniques 2: Aesthetics & Colour | |
| 5 | Information Visualisation Techniques 3: Narratives, Micro/Macro Readings & Misleading with Data | |
| 6 | Information Visualisation Techniques 4: Designing Static & Dynamic Visualisations | Assignment 1 - Info Vis Analysis Report due Week 6 Tutorial |
| 7 | The Current Info Vis Landscape & Reading Visualisations | Assignment 2 - Initial Visualisation Major Project Proposal due Week 7 Tutorial |
| 8 | Information Visualisation Contexts 1: Business | |
| 9 | Information Visualisation Contexts 2: Education & Social Sciences | |
| 10 | Information Visualisation Contexts 3: Scientific | |
| 11 | Information Visualisation Contexts 4: Maps & GIS | Assignment 2 - Info Vis Major Project due Week 11 Tutorial |
| 12 | Revision & In Class Presentations of Visualisation Projects | Assignment 2 - Presentation of Info Vis Major Project in Week 12 Tutorial |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
Examination (2 hours): 40%; In-semester assessment: 60%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 - Information Visualisation Domains and Applications | 20% | Report due Week 6 Tutorial |
| Assignment 2 - Information Visualisation Prototype Application | 30% (proposal 5%, application submission 20% and presentation 5%) | Proposal due Week 7 Tutorial, Major Project submission Week 11 Tutorial, and Presentation to class in Week 12 Tutorial |
| Weekly Contribution to Discussion | 10% (overall for the whole semester) | Ongoing. Comments are expected to be made weekly. |
| Examination 1 | 40% | To be advised |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see resources and tutorials at http://www.monash.edu/library/skills/resources/tutorials/academic-integrity/
Students will be assessed on a number of criteria:
Further detail on the assessment criteria is available on the assignment specification.
Students will be assessed on a number of criteria:
Students will be assessed on a number of criteria:
Full details will be posted on the unit website.
There are no mandatory text books for this unit, however the following texts provide a valuable resource to your study:
Key recommended texts:
Tufte, E. R. (1990). Envisioning information, Cheshire, Connecticut, Graphics Press
Supplementary recommended texts:
Chen, C. (2004). Information visualization: Beyond the horizon (2nd Edition). London: Springer-Verlag. *Electronic Resource
Dykes, J., Dykes, MacEachren, A.M. and Kraak M. J. (2005), Exploring Geovisualization, Elsevier *Electronic Resource
Suda, B. (2010), A Practical Guide to Designing with Data, Five Simple Steps
Tufte, E. R. (1997) Visual explanations : images and quantities, evidence and narrative, Cheshire, Connecticut, Graphics Press
Tufte, E. R. (2001). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Cheshire, Connecticut, Graphics Press
Tufte, E. R. (2006) Beautiful Evidence, Cheshire, Connecticut, Graphics Press
Ware, C. (2004). Information visualization: Perception for design (2nd Edition). San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann *Electronic Resource
Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an electronic submission). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.
While the unit does not focus on particular technologies, several technologies will be discussed and used for the creation of visualisations. Two key software resources are Google Sketchup (http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/) and Google Earth (http://www.google.com/earth/index.html).
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Malaysia see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Malaysia, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.