Exploring Web site log data with a multi-classification interface

Abstract

Many interface designs have been developed for the exploration of multidimensional data sets, many based on finding subsets by filtering attribute values independently or successively. However, many of these interfaces do not also support the use of hierarchies for selection and summarisation. We show how an interface that uses coordinated hierarchy views of data supports the exploration of such data. Our interface is demonstrated with our SGViewer tool and a Web site log dataset where visits to a Web site have been organised into time, downloads, visitor address and referrer address dimensions. A configurable nested tree visualisation is used to present each dimension hierarchy. We show how both rapid and flexible exploration of this data is supported by our interface.