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Explore key Olympic medal factors like geopolitics, economics, and population to objectively evaluate countries' performances. Visualize data with Schneiderman's mantra and dynamic queries.
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Olympics HistoryA Data Visualization Application Team Thundercats David Schechter, Shubhangi Rakhonde, & Zayd Hammoudeh
The Olympic Games • The Olympics are held every two years as a global celebration of amateur sports. • Over 219 million Americans watched the London 2012 games. • The United States won more medals than any other country in 2012, and NBC gleefully spoke of American Olympic dominance. • Fundamental Question: How can one objectively determine which country performed the best at an Olympic games?
Medals Alone are not Enough • Most viewers are unaware of the various factors that affect country medal totals. • Goal:Design a web based, data visualization application that educates users regarding these key Olympic medal dynamics including: • Geopolitics • National Economic Output • National Population • Host City Selection • Number of Participating Athletes • Event Bias
Typical Application User • The application’s user base is broad. • Geared primarily, but not exclusively, towards those that have an existing interest in the Olympics and want to learn about the games at a much greater depth. • Much of the analysis in the application is United States focused. The reasons we did this include: • The US has one of the most extensive and compelling Olympic histories. • Increased relevance for class discussion and presentation • Desire to enlighten ourselves regarding the biases in American Olympic television coverage.
Scope Disclosure • For clarity of data presentation, this project focused solely on the summer Olympics. • Since the winter Olympics are generally smaller with fewer participating nations and athletes, some of the nuances of the analysis would not have been possible. • Any general references to the “Olympics” in the subsequent discussion applies to the summer games only.
Web Design Patterns & Techniques Web design patterns and techniques used include: • Feature Search Browse • Visual Framework with Persistent Navigation • Bonus: Built-in images to enable recognition rather than recall. • Breadcrumbs • “You are Here” • Escape Hatch • Carousel • Iconic Olympic images on the home page • Taglines • Hover Tools • Menu selection • Data visualization tools • Grid of Equals • Color Standardization • Concept presented by guest lecturer Robert Nicholson
Data Visualization Design Patterns Data visualization design patterns and techniques used: • Schneiderman’s Mantra • “Overview first, zoom and filter, then details-on-demand.” • Dynamic Queries • Give ‘em what they want • Data Spotlighting • “Focus Plus Context” • Data Tips • Provide additional relevant context and data. • Multi-Y Graphs • Sortable Tables • A partial misnomer but sorting is the key