Node Link Diagrams vs. Adjacency Matrices

• Tasks related to the overview 1. Estimate number of vertices 2. Estimate number of edges • Tasks related to graph elements 3. Finding the most connected vertex (a central actor, a pivot, a hub) 4. Finding a vertex by name 5. Finding an edge connecting two vertices 6. Finding a common neighbor 7. Finding a path • Random graphs (3 sizes et 3 densities) • 2 representations: Node-Link + Matrix Results: • Node-link diagrams are preferable for small sparse graphs (20 vertices) Matrices are more readable wrt dense graphs and medium/large graphs (> 20 vertices) wrt the selected tasks, except path finding % of correct answers for the 7 tasks, 3 densities and 2 representations (NodeLink in blue, Matrix in purple) References