Proposal for MS Thesis Research

The "State of the Art" in Data Structure and Algorithm Visualization for Computer Science Education

This research will consist of the following components:

Catalog: A reasonably broad catalog of "good" data structure and algorithm visualizations available to computer science instructors;
A definition of what makes a visualization "good" within the context of this research (e.g. "good" might simply mean "works at all and is widely available for educational use" or it could include several other pedagogic or technological criteria);
SearchMethodology: A method for systematically locating visualizations (both for this research and as a proposed method for others to use);
EducationalResourceRepositories: A survey of available visualization repositories, along with some indication of their viability and usefulness;
Toolkits: A survey of available algorithm visualization tools, toolkits, and environments, including observed level of penetration and reactions from users;
A description of the frequency and distribution of various classes of visualizations as well as algorithms and data structures covered (e.g. "there are 500 working algorithm visualizations in the world; of those, 400 are linked lists and 250 are low-interaction stepwise animations"); and
Directions for future work at the PhD level.