Comparing networks across different populations or across time is challenging, this is due to all the possible nuanced changes that can happen when you look at one network visualization to another. Typically people observe network changes by looking at two network plots side by side. However, this can be rather difficult as it forces the viewer to spend time looking for all the possible differences. In response to this, this app demonstrates a novel network visualization that directly depicts change using color encodings. This will simplify the task of identifying common features across two networks and identifying changes across networks so that it is not so dependent on the viewers ability to perceive small changes.
The networks visualize the differences from data collected in an NIH research training program for students in the early stage and at the very final stages of a two year program.
The Problem tab shows two network graphs and demonstrates how it is typically compared. The tabs Overall, Male, Female, Hispanic, and Non-Hispanic show the change over time, where the red lines indicate a decrease in the relation and green indicates an increase. For Male vs Female, the red lines indicate that the Females had a stronger relation and the green lines indicate that the Males had a stronger relation. For Hispanic vs Non-Hispanic, the red lines indicate that the Hispanic had a stronger relation and the green lines indicate the Non-Hispanic had a stronger relation.
Click HERE to view the app or copy and paste the following link:
https://hjhernandez.shinyapps.io/VisNetworkGraphComp/
