Quantitative Externalization of Visual Data Analysis Results Using Local Regression Models

Both interactive visualization and computational analysis methods are useful for data studies and an integration of both approaches is promising to successfully combine the benefits of both methodologies. In interactive data exploration and analysis workflows, we need successful means to quantitatively externalize results from data studies, amounting to a particular challenge for the usually qualitative visual data analysis. In this paper, we propose a hybrid approach in order to quantitatively externalize valuable findings from interactive visual data exploration and analysis, based on local linear regression models. The models are built on user-selected subsets of the data, and we provide a way of keeping track of these models and comparing them. As an additional benefit, we also provide the user with the numeric model coefficients. Once the models are available, they can be used in subsequent steps of the workflow. A model-based optimization can then be performed, for example, or more complex models can be reconstructed using an inversion of the local models. We study two datasets to exemplify the proposed approach, a meteorological data set for illustration purposes and a simulation ensemble from the automotive industry as an actual case study.