L'Yi Sehi, Ko Bongkyung, Shin DongHwa, Cho Young-Joon, Lee Jaeyong, Kim Bohyoung, Seo Jinwook
BMC Bioinformatics. 2015;16 Suppl 11(Suppl 11):S5. doi: 10.1186/1471-2105-16-S11-S5. Epub 2015 Aug 13.
Though cluster analysis has become a routine analytic task for bioinformatics research, it is still arduous for researchers to assess the quality of a clustering result. To select the best clustering method and its parameters for a dataset, researchers have to run multiple clustering algorithms and compare them. However, such a comparison task with multiple clustering results is cognitively demanding and laborious.
In this paper, we present XCluSim, a visual analytics tool that enables users to interactively compare multiple clustering results based on the Visual Information Seeking Mantra. We build a taxonomy for categorizing existing techniques of clustering results visualization in terms of the Gestalt principles of grouping. Using the taxonomy, we choose the most appropriate interactive visualizations for presenting individual clustering results from different types of clustering algorithms. The efficacy of XCluSim is shown through case studies with a bioinformatician.
Compared to other relevant tools, XCluSim enables users to compare multiple clustering results in a more scalable manner. Moreover, XCluSim supports diverse clustering algorithms and dedicated visualizations and interactions for different types of clustering results, allowing more effective exploration of details on demand. Through case studies with a bioinformatics researcher, we received positive feedback on the functionalities of XCluSim, including its ability to help identify stably clustered items across multiple clustering results.
尽管聚类分析已成为生物信息学研究中的常规分析任务，但研究人员评估聚类结果的质量仍然很艰巨。为了为数据集选择最佳的聚类方法及其参数，研究人员必须运行多种聚类算法并进行比较。然而，这种对多个聚类结果的比较任务在认知上要求很高且费力。
在本文中，我们展示了XCluSim，这是一种可视化分析工具，它使用户能够基于视觉信息搜索原则交互式地比较多个聚类结果。我们构建了一个分类法，根据格式塔分组原则对现有的聚类结果可视化技术进行分类。使用该分类法，我们选择最合适的交互式可视化来展示来自不同类型聚类算法的单个聚类结果。通过与一位生物信息学家的案例研究展示了XCluSim的功效。
与其他相关工具相比，XCluSim使用户能够以更具可扩展性的方式比较多个聚类结果。此外，XCluSim支持多种聚类算法以及针对不同类型聚类结果的专用可视化和交互，允许根据需求更有效地探索细节。通过与一位生物信息学研究人员的案例研究，我们收到了对XCluSim功能的积极反馈，包括其帮助识别多个聚类结果中稳定聚类项的能力。
