Making data meaningful through effective visual presentation 5 th - 9 th December 2011, Rome Slides courtesy of: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Statistical Division

Who are you talking to?

Tourists Harvesters Miners

clear and simple message

Perception and Symbology – Size/Shape

Perception and Symbology - Colour

Tables, graphs or maps?

Tables  Follow a style guide  Title, source, headings, footnotes  Clear headings  Sort data in appropriate order  One decimal place  Right-justify numbers

Source: Statistics Canada

Graphics for showing differences between women and men  Box plots  Stacked bar graph

Men marry later than women

What you should avoid…

Don’t distract the reader’s attention

avoid using 3D graphs

Avoid three-dimensional charts

Maps  Title  Legend  Scale bar  Source  Footnotes

Source: E.W. Gilbert as cited in Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1997), p24

Summary  Visual presentations are tools to communicate  Use whatever is best for the audience and message

Tourists Harvesters Miners

clear and simple message