This blog post is part of a series called Asked and Answered, about writing great survey questions and visualizing the results with high impact graphs. Dr. Sheila B. Robinson is authoring the Asked series, on writing great questions. Dr. Stephanie Evergreen is authoring the Answered series, on data visualization.
Announcing The Evergreen Data Certification Program
Have you ever signed up for an online course with really good intentions, only to find yourself barely checking in a couple months later? In The Evergreen Data Certification Program, we will not let you fade away. When you commit to The Evergreen Data Certification Program, you earn a…
2020 Evergreen Mentoring Program
This past year, I wrote an article that required all the vulnerability and bravery I had that whole month. It was about being a woman in data visualization and some (just some) of the shit that has come with it. It was exhausting to recall the experiences I discussed…
What? So What? Now What?
People who are short on time (i.e., most everyone) have these three questions on their mind, in this order. What’s going on? What does this mean to me? What are we (actually, YOU) going to do about it? The shorthand way of structuring that storyline: What, So What, Now…
Calling the Data Viz Curious
Ever spot those gorgeous graphs in the New York Times or the Washington Post and wish you could make them? You can. And you don’t need fancy software to do it. Good graphs, at their core, are based on a few fundamental principles of data visualization design, a structured…
Decade of Data Viz
Well, that just flew by. Ten years ago, I was in the throes of writing my dissertation on Presenting Data Effectively, knowing I had focused on a topic that the world was hungry for, even if they didn’t know it yet. I had collected enough literature and data to know…
Four Ways to Show Projections
Of course we all want to know what will happen in the future. These days folks are looking at data like it has a crystal ball. To the extent that we provide our audiences with projected data, let’s talk about ways to visualize the projected data. Because here’s the thing:…
Better Graphs Tell Clearer Stories: The Breast Cancer Example
Nothing wrong with this breast cancer line chart, but it’ll only tell a certain data story. Learn some alternative chart types for better data storytelling.
When Will Bad Infographics End?
Back in November of **2010** I set up a Google Alert for “infographic.” Oh, I thought, these are an interesting development in how we communicate data. But either the quality of the design will drastically improve or these things will be a fad that disappears within a couple years.
Excel vs. Tableau vs. R
We are hard core believers that you should become the master of the tools you own. If your company relies on Microsoft, figure out how to use Excel to make amazing data visualizations. If your company invested in a site-wide license for Tableau, climb over that learning curve and master…