Presenting Data in Meaningful and Interesting Ways

January 13, 2010

Our Agenda

•Introduction •What is Your Message? Who is Your Audience?•Rules of Data Presentations•Make the Data Speak by Using the Right Method of Presentation

•Tables•Chart Selection Tools•Chart Basics•Charts and Graphs

•Other Presentation Tools•Dashboards & Summaries•Map Mashups•Narratives with Numbers•Pocket Guides

•Final Tips•Using Excel With Care

Help yourself to some coffee and donuts

Ask Yourself: What is my Message?

“The information that’s stored in our databases and spreadsheets cannot speak for itself. It has important stories to tell and only we can give them a voice.”

-Stephen Few

And…Who is My Audience?

Rules of Data Presentations

-Be Clear -Keep it Simple-Keep it Brief-Make Sure it’s Accurate-Frame it with Context & Meaning

Clarity

“Above all else show the numbers.” -Edward Tufte

Simplicity

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” -Leonardo da Vinci

Brevity

Accuracy

Context & Meaning

Attendance at Cornhusker Memorial Stadium 2008 = 595,490Visits to Nebraska Public Libraries 2008 = 8,606,618, which would fill the stadium 106 times.

Finally…

“It all boils down to Communication”

-Stephen Few

A Financial Table with Highlighted Cells

http://www.juiceanalytics.com/chartchooser/

Which Chart Should I Use?

http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html

Another Guide to Choosing Charts, Graphs, and Other Ways of Presenting Data

Chart Type Typical Applications Notes

Line Charts - Find and compare trends, - Display a change in direction, - Compare two data series over time- Show correlation- Show rise & fall of values over time

In a time series, the category spacing on the x-axis should be proportional. Only use line charts when the x-axis variable is continuous (time, distance, etc.).

Area Charts - Display data change over time- Compare two or more quantities

Based on line charts, but shows magnitude better.

Column Graphs

- Show frequency distribution (histogram)- Show comparison of data sets- Show relationship between data series

Multiple columns can be used to present data for several variables. Avoid stacked bar charts.

Bar Charts - Good for ranking data sets- Show comparison of data sets

To highlight high values, sort in descending order, to emphasize low values, sort in ascending order

Pie Charts - Compare data sets as percentages of a whole

Popular, but has limitations. Use no more than five “slices.” Label the slices themselves instead of using a legend. If the values are close, distinctions will be difficult to decipher. Our eyes are great at comparing line lengths, but can’t judge angles very well.

A Simple Table of Data Charts

A Primer: Chart Basics

The x Axis – for Categorical Information – Providing Context for the Data

The y AxisUsed for Quantitative

Information – Your Data

A Line Chart Used as a Time SeriesStressing Direction

A Bar Chart Used as a Time SeriesStressing Magnitude

A Line Chart – Used as a Comparison of 2 Data Sets

The Same Line Chart as an Area Chart

A Column Chart Used as a Histogram to ShowFrequency Distribution

Bar Chart – Used to Show Ranking

The Ubiquitous Pie Chart

The Same Data in a Bar Chart

Or Use a Square Pie Chart or Waffle Chart

Is This the World’s Worst Pie Chart?

Or Maybe It’s This One…

Business Dashboard Example

A Dashboard/Summary Hybrid

http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/statistics/LibraryMap.html

http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/statistics/BroadbandMap.html

Pocket Guides

Thanks for Participating!

Remember These Web Pages

• http://www.nlc.nebraska.gov

• http://www.nlc.nebraska.gov/blogs/nlc/index.html

• http://www.nlc.nebraska.gov/statistics/

• http://www.nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompass/ncompasslive.asp