Toward a deeper understanding of data analysis, sensemaking, and signature discovery

Abstract

Data analysts are tasked with the challenge of transforming an abundance of data into knowledge and insights. This complex cognitive process has been studied, and models created to describe how the process works in specific domains. Two popular models used for this generalization are the sensemaking and signature discovery models, which apply a cognitive and computational focus to describe the analytic process, respectively. This work seeks to deepen our understanding of the data analysis process in light of these two models. We present the results of interviews and observations of analysts and scientists in four domains (Biology, Cyber Security, Intelligence Analysis, and Data Science). Our results indicate that specific aspects of both models are exhibited in the analysts from our study, but neither describe the holistic analysis process.