HIERARCHY VIZ: A VISUAL ANALYTICS FRAMEWORK FOR VISUALIZING HIERARCHICAL DATA USING MACHINE LEARNING
Date Approved
6-16-2025
Embargo Period
6-16-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S. Data Science
Department
Computer Science
College
College of Science & Mathematics
Advisor
Bo Sun, Ph.D.
Committee Member 1
Shen Shyang Ho, Ph.D.
Committee Member 2
Sihan Yu, Ph.D.
Disciplines
Computer Sciences | Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Abstract
Automated visualization systems aim to generate visualizations directly from raw data with minimal user inputs. However, while existing systems focus on data visualizations mainly using line charts and scatter plots to explore the data patterns, they struggle with hierarchical data representation where data relationship is essential. Hierarchical visualization, crucial for understanding multi-level relationships, typically requires users to manually define hierarchies and have expertise in visualization tools to create meaningful representations. This makes the process complex, time-consuming, and reliant on domain knowledge. To address this, we propose HierarchyViz, an automated system that detects multiple hierarchies in raw datasets and generates intuitive visualizations by default, while also allowing optional manual refinement for user-specific needs. The system utilizes Sentence Transformers to generate embeddings for column names, followed by hierarchical clustering to group semantically related attributes. A custom machine learning model predicts hierarchical relationships. HierarchyViz automatically visualizes these hierarchies using drill-up/drill-down bar charts and tree maps, while providing an interactive tree structure and a dynamic level pyramid visualization. By automating both hierarchy detection and visualization, HierarchyViz reduces the need for manual hierarchy definition and visualization expertise, making hierarchical data exploration more accessible and advancing automated data visualization.
Recommended Citation
Uppalapati, Vinay Kumar, "HIERARCHY VIZ: A VISUAL ANALYTICS FRAMEWORK FOR VISUALIZING HIERARCHICAL DATA USING MACHINE LEARNING" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 3397.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/3397