Obsidian Zettelkasten

251 - Network Analysis is a set of integrated techniques to depict relations among actors and to analyze the social structures that emerge from the recurrence of these relations (Science Direct).

Alt: Breaking down a topic into a network of smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it.


How can Graph View help one better understand their notes collection?

My current issues with graph view is that I don’t feel it really tells me anything new about my note collection or helps me understand it better. This could be user error, as I just don’t know how to do such analysis. It could also be the tools aren’t well developed well enough yet to gain meaningful (new & surprising) insights about my notes.


Network Analysis Examples

  • Netbase Quid specializes in text-based data analysis. Quid software can read millions of documents (e.g. news articles, blog posts, company profiles, and patents) and offers insight by organizing that content visually.
  • Kumu is a powerful visualization platform for mapping systems and better understanding relationships.

Visual Cues

  • Vary Link Thickness
  • Vary Node Size
  • Vary Node Colors
  • Vary Node Proximity (Forces)
  • Vary Link Shapes
  • Vary Node Shapes

Relationships to Map

  • Tags
  • Types of Tags
    • Visualize Thematic Relationships
    • Visualize Relationships between Keywords
  • Connections between Notes
  • Number of connections a note has
  • Direct Links (Wiki Links)
  • Indirect Links (Unmentioned Links, Backlinks, Tags)
  • Metadata I’m unaware of

Future Visualizations for Obsidian

  • Heatmap for Tags
  • Timeline for Zettelkasten Notes
  • Arc Diagram - nodes on timeline, arc links are hyperlinks to other notes
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