Chapter 16: Displaying Data

Question 1

Data Display

Answer 1

• represents data patterns instead of literally describing them
• it helps to understand and communicate results
• takes advantage of visual and spacial human cognitive systems, including perception and memory
• many different types of information can be visually displayed
• summarize relevant information about a phenomena and omit the irrelevant part

Question 2

Reasons to Display Data

Answer 2

1. examine data in the first stage of the results
2. interpret the meaning of data
3. to communicate/publish the data

Question 3

Examine preliminary Data in an early stage

Answer 3

• helps research to have initial intuition regarding the patters in the data
• shows how the different variables are statistically distributed
• makes visible how some variables relate to others
• detects unusual values or ourliers
• helps to figure out if there are any possible miscoded or misrecorded data
• indicates if the results more or less fit the expected values

Question 4

Interpret the Meaning of the Data

Answer 4

• process of immersing yourself in the data
• it is recommended to try different types of data display
• include and exclude different variables and ranges of values
• tables: graphical display

Question 5

To communicate / publish the data

Answer 5

• data displays are useful to show something concrete
• they should include a great amount of ata since it takes much space in a report
• usually when we have 3-4 values
• do not use it for raw data or averages

Question 6

Guidelines to Display Data

Answer 6

• an effective communication is a transmission of relevant information to a person or group of people as quickly and easy as possible
• displays should be prepared to deliver valid and relevant information
• the information must be clear, precise and unambiguous
• displays should clarify complex information and make it simple

Question 7

Types of Displays

Answer 7

• Tables

- Graphs

Question 8

Tables

Answer 8

• organized lists of matrices of data
• organize data and make it visible
• show data correctly with numbers (or class labels in nominal variables)
• very effective in presenting large amounts of data
• it is necessary to keep a consistency regarding the tables throughout the document
• all tables in a document must be designed in a similar format
• tables should be easy to read and interpret

Question 9

Parts of a Table

Answer 9

1. Title (topic of the table)
2. table number: order that the tables are referred to in the report
3. Headings and Subheadings: to establish an order to the data by identifying columns. They should be written in the singular form unless they refer to groups (eg. male, female) and the first letter of the world should be capitalized. Heading should be the key words that best describe the columns
4. Body: actual part of the table with the values, results and analysis
5. table spanner: located in the body of the table to divide the data in a table without changing the columns. Spanners go the entire length of the table and are often used to combine two tables into one in oder to avoid repetition
6. table notes/footnotes: to explain anything in your table that is not self-explanatory

Question 10

Graphs

Answer 10

• visual representations to help communicate the data
• they are often the best way to determine trends in the data or to make comparisons between groups
• they should be self-explanatory and the reader should understand the results without detailed reference to the text
• graphs are a good solution to show relationships between variables

Question 11

Types of Graphs

Answer 11

• bar graphs
• histogram
• line graph
• pictograph
• pie chart
• box plot
• line plot
• scatterplot
• stem-and leaf plot