Targeted projection pursuit for interactive exploration of high-dimensional data sets

High-dimensional data is, by its nature, difficult to visualise. Many current techniques involve reducing the dimensionality of the data, which results in a loss of information. Targeted Projection Pursuit is a novel method for visualising high-dimensional datasets which allows the user to interactively explore the space of possible views to find those that meet their requirements. A prototype tool that utilises this method is introduced, and is shown to allow users to explore data through an interface that is transparent and efficient. The tool and underlying technique are general purpose - applicable to any high-dimensional numeric data, and supporting a wide range of exploratory data analysis activities - but are evaluated on three particular tasks using gene expression data: identifiying discriminatory genes, visualising diagnostic classes, and detecting misdiagnosed samples. It is found to perform well in comparison with standard techniques.