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Data Visualization: Methods, Types, Benefits, and Checklist

Presentation · March 2019

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19618.48324

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 Data Visualization: Methods, Types, Benefits, and Checklist

1. Introduction

Have you ever used summary statistics, things like what's the average
height? what's the average selling? These numbers can be a useful summary of a
data set, but they can also hide detail within the data. There is a danger that relying
on summaries can lead to misleading or even incorrect answers. It's only by
visualizing the data that we're able to see the true shape of the data. According to
Geckoboard (2019), relying on summaries of tables or numbers hides the
information within the data. We need to visualize it to explore, understand, and
explain our data fully, and that is the power of data visualization.

2. Data Visualization Methods

The start of any data visualization depends on the data set and what we want
to know. Broadly speaking, there are five main questions we can ask.

● How does my one thing correspond to another?

● How is this data linked to other data?
● How is that data scattered?
● How is this data composed of, and
● How does this data appear on a map?

There are many ways to visualize our data, and the choice largely depends on our
data and what we're trying to accomplish and that's always going to be the starting
point. No matter what data we have, and what visualization we decide to use, some
general guidelines will stand in good stead.

Data can be visualized in many ways, but in this post, I want to focus on
exploratory, and infographics.
 Figure 1. Example of an exploratory dashboard, Source: Matt (2016)

According to Matt (2016), in the exploratory dashboard, we visually present the

data and ask the viewer to find the story in the data. So we provided them some
filters and some actions so they can drive this dashboard to find interesting pieces
of information.

The difference between an exploratory dashboard and infographics is that an

infographic is a visualization where we've already found something interesting in a
story and we want to present it in a way to the viewer.
 Figure 2. Infographics Visualization, Source: Matt (2016)

Now infographics can still be interactive by adding hover over a point and get the
values. We could decide that maybe we just want to filter in on this particular area.
But the main difference between these and exploratory dashboards is we've already
found the exciting we want to show.
3. Benefits of Data Visualization

The primary benefit of data visualization for the enterprise organization is

that it enables faster decisions to better grasp complex data, according to
Salesforce (2018), there are many benefits of worth contemplating some of the
most valuable benefits of data visualization summarized using the table below:

Table 1. Advantages of data visualization

Number Advantage Description

1
Quickly process large Condense large, complex data stores at a glance.
amounts of data This is often performed within the use of
interactive, visually-presented dashboards

2
Obtain critical data in Big data visualization devices work in real time,
real time continually updating the information being given

3
Understand data better Allow users to see beyond the numbers. By
through interactivity delving deeper into the causes and trends,

4
Examine associations Visually discover the secret ties that connect the
among business day-to-day methods with business performance
processes and
performance

5
Put a story within data See events, consequences, and recommendations
lined up in such a way as to convey a story.
Data can be visualized in many tools depending on the data we have and the type
of visualization we want to achieve.

Table 2. Data Visualization Tools

Numbe Name Description Best Used for creating

r

1 Tableau Crucial and most valuable data Charts, graphs, maps,

visualization engine in a big data and many other
environment according to graphics.
Mahalakshmi (2015). Can be used by
programmers.

2 Sisense Has many well-prepared impressive To prepare data

dashboards Interactive analysis
Simple & Flexibility

3 Dataplay visualize and manage data stored in Good for collaboration

diverse areas and integrate them with between data users and
automated display features. data itself

4. Data Visualization Checklist

To develop high impact data visualization we need to use a checklist to

guide our development. Stephenie and Ann (2014) created a list of checklist
available at ​this link​ to measure data visualization quality that contains grading for
text, arrangement, color, lines, and checklists to measure the viewer's overall
attention.
Table 3. Data Visualization Checklist, Source: Stephenie and Ann (2014)
5. Conclusion

Many factors will determine the final visualization that we build, but a good
starting point is always to ask yourself: what kind of question do I want to ask?
And then depending on the data, we can be sure still to make the right choice every
time we build a data visualization. Data Visualizations can be exploratory or
infographic with static or dynamic capability. Interactive visualizations often lead
to discovery and do a better job than static data tools. Interactive visualizations can
help gain great insight from big data. Interactive brushing and linking between
visualization approaches and networks or Web-based tools can facilitate the
scientific process. Using data visualization checklist will help to develop best and
intuitive result for the viewers.

References:

Arockia, P., Komal, M. (2017) ​Data Visualization tools and Techniques For Datasets In Big Data​ [Online]
Available at: ​https://www.irjet.net/archives/V4/i8/IRJET-V4I8296.pdf​ [Accessed 30 March 2019]

Geckoboard (2019) ​Summary Statistics​ [Online] Available at:

https://www.geckoboard.com/learn/data-literacy/data-science-glossary/summary-statistics/​ [Accessed 29 March
2019]

Lidong, W., Guanghui, W., and Cheryl, A. (2015) ​Big Data and Visualization: Methods, Challenges and
Technology Progress.​[Online] Available at:
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2975/4e4295a9ce4d51937c0712d6482634474628.pdf​ [Accessed 30 March 2019]

Matt, F. (2016) ​Why Visualize Data​ [Online] Available at:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/data-visualization-tips-and-tricks/visualize-comparisons-in-data?u=1504
[Accessed 30 March 2019]

Mahalakshmi​, S. (2015) ​Big-​SoSA​: Social Sentiment Analysis and Data Visualization on Big Data[​ ​Online​]
International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering Vol. 4, Issue
4, [Accessed 30 March 2019]

Salesforce (2018) ​Why Big Data Visualization Is Essential​ [Onlline] Available at:
https://www.salesforce.com/hub/analytics/why-use-big-data-visualization/#​ Accessed 30 March 2019]
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Stephenie, E., and Ann., Emery (2014) ​Data Visualization Checklist​ [Online] Available at:
https://stephanieevergreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/DataVizChecklist_May2014.pdf​ [Accessed 30 March
2019]