530 likes | 688 Views
Gary Klass Department of Politics and Government Illinois State University. Data Presentation Standards “Graphical Excellence” -- Edward Tufte. well-designed presentation of data of substance, statistics and design complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiency
E N D
Gary Klass Department of Politics and Government Illinois State University
Data Presentation Standards“Graphical Excellence” -- Edward Tufte • well-designed presentation of data of substance, statistics and design • complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiency • the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space.Best example: Baseball statistics
Nurses arrive in November ‘54 Sanitary commissionarrives in March ‘55
Data Presentation Principles • Show the data • Minimize the ink to data ratio • Present many numbers in a small space • Sort by a meaningful variable • Tell the Truth -- Avoid data distortion • Tables and charts should be self-explanatory • Highlight Meaningful comparisons
Minimize the ink to data ratio • Avoid using unnecessary legends (and color coding) • Minimize gridlines (or vertical axis lines) • Never use 3-D
Sort the Data! • By the most meaningful variable • The Alphabet is not the most meaningful variable • Time goes left to right
Sort Data by the most important variable The Alphabet is not the most important variable
Tell the Truth! • Avoid Data Distortion
Note also: Top charts uses 12 numbers to represent 5 datapoints
Minimize the ink-to-data ratio • Avoid all ChartJunk • Never use 3-D • Eliminate unnecessary lines
Don’t use Pie Charts!!!!!!! • Never use Pie Charts • Never ever use 3-D Pie Charts • Never compare data across two pie charts • Beware of the Pie Chart’s friends: pyramids, cones, donuts and radars
Maybe a Pie: If only one slice matters Labels on slices,No legend
Data-to-ink ratio Simple Graphics Boxplots, Sparklines, and Dot - Plots the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space.
Dashboards See:Stephen FewInformation Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.
Dashboards • http://executivedashboards.org/2010/10/05/good-executive-dashboards/