Abstract:
With rich media recording devices scientist can record many data types in a typical experiment. This means the paper laboratory notebook is no longer enough. There is a growing need to be able to record, store and explore the data in the electronic format. The easiest way to do this is to create a data repository. One aspect that is usually overlooked when creating a data repository of heterogeneous data is how the end-user can navigate and view the data. This thesis proposes a prototype that demonstrates how basic navigation can be provided by two reusable widgets. The two widgets are a table widget and a graphical model editor. The table widget uses a hyperlink concept to facilitate data navigation. The graphical model editor provides functionality to the end-user for creating models that describe the data in the repository. The editor also serves as an interface to retrieve data according to that model. In the project, the hyperlink concept was experimentally compared with a normal spreadsheet. Thirteen participants performed manual search tasks using the spreadsheet and the prototype. On average the prototype was found to be faster than the spreadsheet. There was a significant difference in task completion time with a p-value of 0.04. It was concluded that the table widget and the graphical model editor can be used to improve the visualisation and navigation of heterogeneous data in the biological sciences. The widgets can also be reused for other domains in which large heterogeneous data sets are encountered.