Visualizing Text Alignments: Image Processing Techniques for Locating 18th-Century Commonplaces

Abstract

This paper examines the use of 'visual analytic' techniques to scrutinise and refine current approaches and algorithms for the identification of text reuse and alignment. In particular, we compare text alignment approaches using the ViTA (Visualization for Text Alignment) system we have developed in the context of a Digging into Data project that seeks to identify 18th century commonplaces in large-scale historical datasets. By leveraging the flexibility of image processing techniques to visualize text alignments in a variety of ways and using multiple parameters, we can improve upon current alignment algorithms in an iterative and integrated process of automated text mining, multivariate visualization, and human-computer interaction Show more