Premium
Knowledge and Reasoning in Spatial Analysis
Author(s) -
Hall Andreas,
AhonenRainio Paula,
Virrantaus Kirsi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
transactions in gis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.721
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9671
pISSN - 1361-1682
DOI - 10.1111/tgis.12049
Subject(s) - visual reasoning , computer science , causal reasoning , analytic reasoning , process (computing) , causality (physics) , spatial intelligence , visual analytics , mental process , graph , mental model , trace (psycholinguistics) , focus (optics) , psychology of reasoning , data science , model based reasoning , mental mapping , artificial intelligence , reasoning system , cognition , visualization , cognitive science , knowledge representation and reasoning , psychology , cognitive psychology , theoretical computer science , linguistics , physics , philosophy , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , optics , operating system
Reasoning is an essential part of any analysis process. Especially in visual analytics, the quality of the results depends heavily on the knowledge and reasoning skills of the analyst. In this study, we consider how to make the results transparent by visualizing the reasoning and the knowledge, so that persons from outside can trace and verify them. The focus of this study is in spatial analysis and a case study was carried out on a process of off‐road mobility analysis. In the case study, linked views of a map and a PCP were identified as reasoning artifacts. The knowledge used by the analyst was formed by these artifacts and the tangible pieces of information identified in them, along with the mental models of the analyst′s mind. To make the results transparent, the tangible pieces of information were marked with sketches and the mental models were presented in causal graphs because it was found that causality was central to the reasoning process in the case study. The causal graph allows the reasoning of the analyst to be studied, as well as traced back to its origin.