visual data and memo

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The final visual report you create will include the three visuals you have made and the supporting text necessary to explain the data you have visualized and make your point.

In addition to the visual report, you also will create a second deliverable: a reflective memo of about 250-500 words. this reflective memo will explain your choices and goals and how the visual report deliverable achieves them.

For this project, you will select a data set from the ones listed below and create a short (approximately two-page) informational report that includes at least three data visualizations that you create and that you feel best communicates the data you select from your data set in a form that maximizes the impact of the data to suit a specific audience and purpose.

To create your visualizations and informational report, please select one of the following data sets:

Once you have selected a data set, spend some time with the data. Identify the trends that jump out at you as most significant. As you identify your audience, think about who would want to know about the data and the point you’d like to make. You will not be able to visualize or discuss all the data in your data set. Your job is to select and visualize the data that is most relevant to your audience and the point you are making.

DELIVERABLES

Document 1: Visual Report with 3 Data Visualizations

A short, informative, visually interesting report that makes a point about your subject using the data in your data set. This report should incorporate at three visuals that you have created along with analysis of the data in your figures. The text in your report should:

  • introduce the topic and its importance
  • explain the meaning of each of the three visuals
  • point to the conclusions suggested by the data.

You should identify a clear audience. Your understanding of the audience informs how the data is presented, the form the visualizations take, and the point you use the data to make, as well as the overall purpose of the document.

Document 2: Reflective Analysis

A 250-500 word memo that explains the following. Use memo headings to identify each of the topics listed below. Format the memo like a memo.

  • How and why you selected your data set
  • How you selected which data to visualize and why you visualized it in the form you did
  • Who was your target audience and what was your overall goal/purpose
  • How you ensured that your visualizations of the data were fair, accurate, and clear
  • A link to the raw data set used to create the report (with a citation for the data)

DATA VISUALIZATION TOOLS

The following tools may be useful in creating your visualizations. There are other tools and apps that you can use, instead. The important thing is to create three original, effective visualizations using the data you have chosen.

For example:

This short report from the Department of Education (Links to an external site.) provides an overview of literacy and numeracy for men and women. In this online short report, the authors created two bar charts that are designed to show relationships between data and then they briefly explain the importance of the data.

In your visual report, you will create three visualizations and integrate them into your report, providing an introduction to the topic and analysis of the data you include to make a point about the topic using your data.