A critical, but overlooked, area of data science is linking analytics to action. Decision-makers must Understand the information being presented to them Have confidence in the analysis Be able to place information in the context of the decisions they are required to take Understand how to apply the information to make better, more informed, decisions Too much focus has been placed on the needs … [Read more...]
Visualizing election results
The New York Times published an article today on how it has mapped election results over the years. It illustrates the challenges of trying to present complex information succinctly to a lay, and possibly hostile, audience. As they note, simply shading the states of the US based on the party that it voted for makes the country look decidedly Republican. A timely reminder, if we needed it, of the … [Read more...]
Tufte in R
Lukasz Piwek maintains a resource that shows how the visualization practices developed by Edward Tufte can be replicated in R. His neat Tufte in R site currently contains examples of the following visualizations minimal line plot range-frame (or quartile-frame) scatterplot dot-dash (or rug) scatterplot minimal boxplot minimal barchart slopegraph sparklines stem-and-leaf display It's a living … [Read more...]
What Nathan Yau uses to visualize data
Nathan Yau of FlowingData has published an up-to-date list of what he uses to turn raw data into his impressive visualizations. What's always striking about the tools he uses is that there's no "quick fix". He utilizes a range of industry standard data manipulation (e.g. R) and graphic design (e.g. Adobe Illustrator) tools in his work. I particularly liked his comments on processing and … [Read more...]
Common Core echo chambers
Aankit Patel, a data consultant at NYC Department of Education, has published an interesting article on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS are nationwide US academic standards for English and mathematics. They were introduced in response to: American students' declining scores on international tests differing standards being applied by state education departments the prospects for … [Read more...]