A Synoptic Visualization Framework for the Multi-Perspective Study of Biography and Prosopography Data

The investigation of biography data as consistently time-oriented information connecting multiple data dimensions can be supported by multiple visualization perspectives. Biographical and prosopographical database projects contain temporally structured datasets connecting events, places, people, institutions with a variety of relations between them. We discuss challenges emerging from scholarly reasoning with these complex aggregated data, and present a visualization concept as a basis for future investigations. Specific attention is dedicated to the discussion of visual synergies to combine information and insights from multiple views and perspectives into a more coherent visual analytics environment, supporting the creation of integrated and shared mental models of data from our collective past.