working with data
You can, of course, repeat this exercise on any subject of your choice but here is an additional dataset about some contrasting Olympic medallist data.
This exercise involves you working with an already acquired dataset to undertake the remaining three key steps of examining, transforming and exploring your data to develop a deep familiarisation with its properties and qualities. Complete the “Olympic Medalists” exercise located at the following link:
Provide at least a 3-5 Page Paper and 3-5 slide presentation of your findings.
For each dataset:
Examination: Articulate the meaning of the data (its representativeness and phenomenon) and thoroughly examine the physical properties (type, size, condition) noting down your descriptions in each case. Compare what the datasets offer and contrast their differences.
Transformation: What could you do/would you need to do to clean or modify the existing data? What other data could you imagine would be valuable to consolidate the existing data?
Exploration: Use a tool of your choice (common recommendations would be Excel, Tableau, R) to visually explore the two datasets separately in order to deepen your appreciation of their physical properties and their discoverable qualities (insights) to help you cement your understanding of their respective value.
1. Make the data stand out. The focus here is on revealing the structure of the data. It includes discussion of how to fill the data region, transform data, choose an appropriate scale for an axis, eliminate chart junk and other superfluous material, and avoid having graph elements interfere with data, which includes topics such as over plotting, jittering, and transparency.
2. Add information. In addition to the usual conveyance of the importance of labeling axes and using legends, we also discuss how to: use color and plotting symbols to convey additional information; add context with reference markers and labels; and write comprehensive captions that are self-contained, describe the important features, and summarize the conclusions drawn from the graph.
3. Key Questions and Interpretations of Data Analysis…
No.
Question
Interpretation
1
What is the message?
Get past the presentation to the facts
2
Is the source reliable?
Think about the information’s quality.
3
How strong is the evidence overall?
Understand how this information fits with other evidence.
4
Does the information matter?
Determine whether the information changes your thinking and leads you to respond.
5
What do the numbers mean?
Remember that understanding the importance of risk requires that you understand the numbers.
6
How does the risk compare to others?
Put the risk into context.
7
What actions can be taken to reduce risk?
Identify the ways you can mitigate the risk to improve your situation.
8
What are the trade-offs?
Make sure you can live with the trade-offs associated with different actions.
9
What else do I need to know?
Focus on identifying the information that would help you make a better decision.
10
Where can I get more information?
Find the information you need to make a better decision.
