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Choose Tools to Tell Your Story - Hands on Data Visualization

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notes

start sketching your data story

  • No clear pieces yet
  • Steps
    • Problem statement: “We need to find out ___ in order to ___.”
    • Rewrite problem statement as a question that does not have an answer yet.
    • Draw pictures and arrows to show how you’ll find data to answer the question.
    • Sketch at least one type of visualization you plan to create after obtaining data.

ten factors when considering tools

  1. Easy to learn
  2. Free or affordable
  3. Powerful: robust features
  4. Supported: actively maintained by developer
  5. Portable: ability to import and export
  6. Secure and private
  7. Collaborative
  8. Cross-platform
  9. Open source
  10. Accessible for visually impaired readers

tool recommendations

  • Google Sheets spreadsheets and charts
  • LibreOffice Calc spreadsheets and charts
  • Airtable RDB
  • Tabula PDF table extractor
  • OpenRefine data cleaner
  • Datawrapper charts/maps/tables
  • Tableau Public
  • Chart.js code templates
  • Highcharts code templates
  • Google My Maps simple map maker
  • Leaflet map code templates
  • GitHub edit and host code
  • GitHub Desktop and Atom code editor
  • GeoJson.io edit and draw geodata
  • Mapshaper edit and join geodata
  • Map Warper georeference images

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