Preparing to Present Data

Research Methods – Data Presentation

In this course, Dr Ayoub Bouguettaya (University of Birmingham) explores types of data presentation and data distributions. In the first lecture, we look at some example graphs which present different sets of data and consider whether they have done a good job. In the second lecture, we think about types of data, with a particular focus on qualitative versus quantitative data, and primary versus secondary data. In the third lecture, we think about tables and graphs as ways of presenting datasets, each with their respective strengths. Next, we think about how the potential drawbacks of both tables and graphs can make them unsuitable for presenting certain types of data. In the fifth lecture, we think about boxplots and histograms, each with their respective strengths and weaknesses for representing different datasets. In the sixth and final lecture, we think about some conclusions that can be drawn from the evaluation of each of these data presentation methods.

Preparing to Present Data

In this lecture, we think about how data is represented, focusing in particular on: (i) three examples of graphs with questionable interpretations, which have been used in real news outlets; (ii) the misleading potential that truncating graph axes can have on interpretation of a dataset; (iii) the importance of establishing what you want to inform your audience of, before deciding on a method of data presentation.