Lesson 5 – Data Visualization

Today we learned about visualizing data. We went through some of the graph examples and talked about some principles.

Presentation Preparation
To get started for your next presentation, do some research to compare two (or more) countries. Gather data about those countries such as:

• population
• birth rate
• land size
• economy
• religion

Prepare some data graphs for your data. Make several types of graphs such as bar graphs (horizontal and vertical), pie graphs, and line graphs. Keep in mind the following purposes of graph types:

• vertical bar graphs – ranking, size
• horizontal bar graphs – time, speed, length
• pie graphs – percentages, market share (usually with 3-6 slices – small slices that are not emphasized can be combined and labled "other")
• line graphs – trends, changes over time

We will learn more about data visualization next week and look at and get feedback on our graphs.

Assignment
Prepare for a presentation in two weeks (5/31). You will compare two or three countries. For your graphs, you can include data from other countries if needed. However, remember to stay focused on your countries.

Have your data slides ready for next week's class.

Remember to follow Tufte's Data Slide Rules:

• Tell the truth
• Get to the point
• Pick the right tool for the job
• Highlight what is important
• Keep it simple