A really basic question on data

[jcullen]

This is probably a really dumb question but I'm a complete novice in Gephi so bear with me.
What I want to know is what data Gephi needs to plot inter-relationships between actors.
To make it real, I want to create a visualisation of an evolving ecosystem that grows over time - and take a snapshot visual image of the ecosystem at various points in time.
I want it to do two things: i) a spatial map of actors (which I understand I can do with GeoLayout) ii) an inter-relationship map - basically which actors link to which other actors and what are the strengths of these links.
My questions are:
for i) how do I get latitude and longitude data without asking all of the actors involved to send it to me and then inputting the data in a spreadsseet by hand (also - is there a plug-in that can convert postcodes to latitude and longitude data)
for ii) what data do I put in a spreadsheet that will enable me to show relationships and strength of relationships (e.g. would I need to survey the actors in the ecosystem and ask them who they link up with and how often?)

[totetmatt]

i) Well ... Check first on google if your country doesn't have such initiative . Otherwise, I'm not aware of such plugin, but if you have a Postal Code, you should be able to find the city (or closest big city) and then for example wikipedia/dbpedia has the information that you can grab it. (yeah, not easy but a little custom script can help here)

ii) If you a file of link like this

Code: Select all

Source,Target,Weight
A,B,1
A,C,2
C,D,4

Gephi will create the links with a proportional Size to the "Weight" column.

After, the meaning of "Strength of a relationship" and the value are up to you

Good luck

[jcullen]

Many thanks for useful advice