Omnigram Explorer: A Simple Interactive Tool for the Initial Exploration of Complex Systems

Abstract

We describe the design of Omnigram Explorer (OMG), an open-source tool for the interactive exploration of relationships between variables in a complex system. OMG is designed to help researchers gain a holistic, qualitative understanding of the relationships between variables in their data at a preliminary stage of analysis; such exploration might highlight interactions that warrant further quantitative investigation using other tools. We illustrate OMG’s use on real-world data, and also describe its potential as a tool for communication to non-specialists.