iSchool Capstone

Wikitree

Project tags:

data science & visualization

information behavior & user research

knowledge organization

Discovery Award, First Place
Project poster

Wikitree is a web application built to help undergraduates with their research. Wikitree tracks and organizes the user’s browsing history through Wikipedia articles. Wikitree is unique because it emphasizes mental connections the user makes on their journey. Wikitree aims to stay adaptable for each individual’s research goals. Our research and user testing revealed many struggles. Undergraduates struggle to dive deep into one topic while staying aware of the big picture. They struggle to mentally categorize connections between different topics during early stages of research. They struggle with feeling overwhelmed by the amount of material encountered, and finding a clear vision within. Wikitree acts as an aid for the user in tracking their explorations. The visualization helps users maintain a high level overview, preventing them from feeling overwhelmed, getting sidetracked, or losing sight of their goals. Special thanks: Mike Freeman, Jeffrey Heer, Jessica Hullman, David McDonald, David Stearns, and Jevin West.

Project participants:

Christina Xiao

Informatics

Alex Burner

Informatics

James Prow

Informatics