MODULE 3
STRUCTURE OF DATA PRESENTATION (PART 1)
MODULE 3.3 - RELATIONAL NETWORK
Lesson Objectives:
1) To understand types of visualization for relational network.
MASURAH MOHAMAD
What is Relational Network
Also known as Network Graph, Network Map, Node-Link Diagram. This type of
visualization shows how things are interconnected through the use of nodes or vertices
and link lines to represent their connections and help illuminate the type of relationships
between a group of entities.
Type of Network Diagram
The two notable types of Network Diagram are "undirected" and "directed". Undirected
Network Diagrams only display the connections between entities Directed Network
Diagrams show if the connections are one-way or two-way through small arrows.
• Diagram:
o The two notable types of Network Diagram are "undirected" and
"directed".
Figure 1: Type of network diagram
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• Undirected Network Diagrams
o Display the connections between entities.
• Directed Network Diagrams
o Show if the connections are one-way or two-way through small arrows
• Typically, nodes are drawn as little dots or circles, but icons can also be
used.
• Links are usually displayed as simple lines connected between the nodes.
• In some Network Diagrams, not all of the nodes and links are created equally.
• Additional variables can be visualised, for example, by making the node size
or link stroke weight proportion to an assigned value.
• By mapping out connected systems, Network Diagrams can be used to
interpret the structure of a network through looking for any clustering of
the nodes, how densely nodes are connected or by how the diagram layout
is arranged.
• Network Diagrams have a limited data capacity and start to become hard
to read when there are too many nodes and resemble "hairballs".
Tools for Generating Relational Network
Diagrams.
These are the common tools that are widely used to generate relational network
diagrams. Each come with their own strength.
Similar Charts to the Relational Network
Diagram
There are various charts that fall under the category of relational network diagrams.
Listed are a few of them.
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