Fisheye Viewer for Microarray Data
Author Information
Author(s): Wu Min, Thao Cheng, Mu Xiangming, Munson Ethan V
Primary Institution: University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Hypothesis
How can we design a user interface that allows biologists to effectively view large tables of raw microarray-based gene expression data?
Conclusion
The Fisheye Viewer is a lightweight but useful tool for biologists to quickly overview the raw microarray-based gene expression data in an E-table.
Supporting Evidence
- The Fisheye Viewer allows users to view MIAME data stored in the MAGE-ML format.
- The viewer was tested on microarray experiment data in MAGE-ML format.
- User feedback was quite positive, with a mean overall reaction score of 8.2.
- The E-table design is generic for large tabular data and could be integrated into other biological data warehouses.
Takeaway
This study created a tool that helps scientists see and understand a lot of gene data at once, making it easier for them to find what they need.
Methodology
The Fisheye Viewer was implemented in Java and tested with a pilot user study using the Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction (QUIS).
Limitations
The software may cause out of memory errors when viewing large MAGE-ML files, and user feedback indicated inconsistencies in satisfaction.
Participant Demographics
Participants included three faculty members, one post-doctoral fellow, and one graduate student from three laboratories in the biological sciences department.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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