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In many real\u2010world networks, edges represent not a single value but a set of measurements. While adjacency matrices preserve structural clarity, their compact cells limit the simultaneous display of multiple values. To address this, we explore edge encodings that represent distributions by two values: a measure of central tendency (mean, median, mode) and a measure of dispersion (standard deviation, variance, IQR). We select four possible encodings for evaluation that prior work has suggested are suitable for the limited space available in matrices: a bivariate color palette, embedded bar charts, and two overlaid\u2010mark designs mapping the primary attribute to color and the secondary attribute to area or angle. In a preregistered crowdsourced study with 156 participants, we assessed performance of these encodings across eight analytical tasks and collected readability and aesthetic ratings. Results reveal clear performance regimes: area\u2010based overlaid marks and bar charts achieved the highest overall performance; angle\u2010based marks show moderate but less stable performance, and bivariate color consistently underperforms these alternatives. These findings clarify how visual channels behave under strict constraints and delineate the strengths and limitations of key design choices for multivariate edge visualization.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/cgf.70475","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T10:38:44Z","timestamp":1781174324000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Evaluating Encodings for Bivariate Edges in Adjacency Matrices"],"prefix":"10.1111","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-4445-4119","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J.","family":"Acosta\u2010Hern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid  Spain"},{"name":"Center for Computational Simulation  Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6930-5468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"A.","family":"Lex","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graz University of Technology  Austria"},{"name":"University of Utah  USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9670-5587","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"T.","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graz University of Technology  Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_2","first-page":"483","volume-title":"Proc. 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