Presentation of information

Presentation of data from market research


Presentation of data is important because it converts raw data into a form that is easier to understand. Information can be displayed as:


Table/tally chart:
It is the most suitable method of presenting data when raw data is needed. However, it offers little more than that and the information should be converted into other forms if it needs to be understood or analysed carefully. It is sufficient for info that is brief or does not contain a lot of different things.



Bar chart:
Charts are a more meaningful and attractive way to present data. They are normally used to compare two or more sets of stats with each other. 


Pictogram:
It is similar to a bar chart but uses symbols instead of columns. It becomes extremely effective if the data is short and simple.


Pie chart:
Pie charts are ways to show the proportion that each components take up compared to the total figure.


Line graph:
Graphs show the relationship between two variables. It can be drawn in a straight or curved line. It is usually to compare things with time and to identify trends.


Alternative ways of presenting information for coursework


Tables
Tables could be also be used to present data in situations such as when people are interviewed on why they like a product and they are given multiple choices.


Photographs
Photos can be used to help illustrate your points or support your work. However, avoid adding them to your work just to make them more attractive. 


Diagrams
Diagrams are used to simplify information. It can be used to show relationships of things which all leads to the same root, which is usually at the centre of the diagram. It can also be used to show variation, e.g. diagram for ways to save water with different ways to do so branching out from the centre of the diagram. 


Maps
Maps are usually used to present location or transport routes, etc… They aim to make the information as clear as possible to the reader. This of course, only applies to certain types of information where words and numbers cannot express them.

Pareto Chart

A Pareto Chart is a graph with both bars and a line, where the individual values of a data series are presented in vertical bars (generally in descending order), and the cumulative values are presented as an increasing, concave line. Often, the vertical axis on the left of the chart is used to depict the number of occurrences (or costs, or other metric), while the vertical axis on the right is used to show the percentage of total occurrences.

Pareto charts are often used in quality control, analyzing reasons for why defects are happening or why a process is not working properly. As a matter of fact, they are considered one of the key seven tools of Total Quality Control (TQC). A Pareto chart shows a quick highlight on what the key reasons are for a problem or issues (e.g. addressing the top two issues will help us solve xx% of the total defects). 
The chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto (1848 to 1923), an Italian engineer and economist who taught at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. He was best known for his “Pareto distribution,” stating that the wealth distribution in a society generally follows a power law curve.  

Google Motion Charts

Most of us would consider ourselves to be fairly advanced users of PowerPoint and of making a point in a visually compelling way. But Hans Rosling takes data visualization to a whole new level. And now you can get access to the tools he developed though a Google app, called the Google Motion Chart

But first a bit of background: Hans Rosling is a Swede, originally set on a medical career, who then realized that his real passion lies in public health issues. He teaches at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and has started the “Gapminder Foundation.” He realized early on that reams and reams of data are available on a variety of topics in public health, but it was difficult to get audiences engaged in a compelling story. Take the question, for example, of whether life expectancy is linked to income levels (i.e. GDP per capita). It’s a challenge to cram data from 150 countries, over 200 years, into a single compelling chart. Yet this is exactly what Rosling did

If you run the “Play” button in the chart above, the circles representing each country move across the chart, and you can observe an evolution from the starting point (year 1800, at left) to the end point (year 2009, at right). Watch it on Rosling’s web site – it’s amazing when you see this the first time.

Rosling is actually quite famous, and has lectured at Davos and at TED, has advised Al Gore, and has also met with the Google founders. They were so impressed that they ended up buying the software and made it available on their site as a Google app. You can use it with your own data, but will need some knowledge of Java programming.

A simpler alternative is to use it in Excel with a macro. The following link to a blog by S Anand provides an example (or you can also e-mail me at rene.limacher@a-connect.com).

Talk about stepping up your presentation skills!

So, what are Motion Charts?

Motion Charts provide a multi-dimensional, over-time analysis of the data in your report. So, if you click Visualize from the Keywords report, each dot will represent one of your keywords. If you click Visualize from the Referrals report, each dot will represent a referral. By selecting metrics to be represented on the X and Y axis and by the size and color of the dots, you plot each dot in four dimensions. Press Play or drag the slider at the bottom of the chart, and you'll see the data change over time, thereby adding Time as the fifth dimension.