A Hands-On Workshop on Data Visualization Fundamentals
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
How to select the right graph type
Visualizing data effectively for a dashboard, report, or presentation calls for the right graph type. But it’s not necessary to be an expert in data visualization or familiar with every single graph in order to make well-informed decisions about the best way to present a data story.
Join data visualization expert Rebeca Pop to learn a process that she has developed and tested for selecting the right graph type—regardless of the tool you are using. You’ll learn how to evaluate your data and your audience to narrow down your graph choices and sketch your graph and visualize your data in a tool. At the end of this three-hour course, you will have mastered a process that has been practiced and proven to make data visualizations stand out.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
By the end of this live online course, you’ll understand:
- Common challenges in selecting the right graph type
- How data types and audience specifics should inform your graph choice
- The importance of sketching in data visualization
- How to effectively use chart choosers to navigate your graph options
- The basics of RAWGraphs, a tool that allows you to create more advanced chart types in seconds
And you’ll be able to:
- Apply the process of selecting the right graph type to ensure you’re communicating your data story in the most effective way possible
- Use RAWGraphs to easily create more advanced graph types
This live event is for you because...
- You’re an analyst, researcher, or data scientist who needs to communicate effectively with data.
- You work with data on a regular basis and tend to use the same graph types again and again.
- You want to take your data visualization skills to the next level.
Prerequisites
- A computer with Microsoft Excel installed (data set and exercises will be provided in Excel)
- Familiarity with basic graph types such as bar charts, pie charts, and line graphs
Recommended preparation:
- Read “Choosing an Effective Visual” (chapter 2 of Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals)
- Read “Should You Truly Save the Pies for Dessert?” (article)
Recommended follow-up:
- Read Data Points: Visualization That Means Something (book)
- Read #MakeoverMonday (book)
- Read “A Violin Plot About…Violinists” (article)
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Common challenges when selecting the right graph type (30 minutes)
- Introduction
- Poll questions
- Presentation: Common challenges when selecting the right graph type and how to solve them
- Group discussion: Think back to when you were looking for the right graph type but got stuck. What did you do next? Were you able to find a solution?
How to select the right graph type – Part I (70 minutes)
- Presentation: Consider your data type and your audience
- Exercise 1
- Group discussion: Review Exercise 1
- Break
How to select the right graph type – Part II (50 minutes)
- Exercise 2
- Group discussion: review Exercise 2
- Presentation: How to use chart choosers, sketch, and create your data visualization in RAWGraphs
- Break
How to select the right graph type – Part III (30 minutes)
- Exercise 3
- Group discussion: review Exercise 3
- Recap
Your Instructor
Rebeca Pop
Rebeca Pop is the founder of Vizlogue, a Data Visualization and Storytelling Lab that offers training and consulting services. Vizlogue's mission is to help companies and organizations communicate more effectively with data. To date, she has delivered presentations to over 3,000 participants all around the world. Her workshops are grounded in a deep understanding of adult learning strategies and combine hands-on exercises with feedback sessions and real-life examples.
Rebeca is also an Adjunct Professor in data visualization and storytelling at the University of Chicago and at Northwestern University. She has almost a decade of experience working in marketing science and analytics at top media agencies, across a variety of industries.
She enjoys writing and has published thought leadership articles on Everviz.com, Nightingale (the journal of the Data Visualization Society), and United Nations’ blog. She has delivered data visualization workshops for many organizations, including The United Nations, Cision, The American Evaluation Association, Yardi, Apolitical, and FleishmanHillard.