7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
1/30
Data PresentationData Presentation
& Writing Skills& Writing Skills
6CN010 - Dissertation6CN010 - Dissertation
Adapted from D.E. Searle & S.Sures
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
2/30
Presenting data
Raw data
Normally unorganised and difficult to interpret
Summaries of the raw data help:
!einfor"e te message
#ake it easier to understand
Choosing and using the best method of presentation is importantfor effective communication
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
3/30
$rapi"al aids
Charts and illustrations for presenting data
Use to reduce number of words needed in explanation
elp to reinforce the meaning of the words
!a"e presentation of data more effective and efficient
Should help prevent misunderstandings
$rapi" aids % "onsider
#s a visual aid needed$
%hich is the best to use$
ow complex or simple should it be$
ow will it be introduced and explained$
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
4/30
$rapi" aids % Ad'antages
&ains attention if done well
'rovides maximum information as (uic"ly as possible
Speeds comprehension
Relieves monotony of solid text
Conveys impression of overall trends and tendencies elps reader pic" out specific figures and see relationships
ighlights differences
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
5/30
(a)les
Simplest form of presenting data as a visual aid
)ata is presented in rows and columns
Unnecessary data can be discarded
Comparisons can be made relatively easily
D.E. Searle & S.Sures
*ables
Presentation of statisti"al data
% ad'antages
)isplay large amounts of data in small space Comparisons and contrasts easily seen
+abel rows and columns, clearly and concisely
#nclude-exclude lines-bold-highlights etc
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
6/30
D.E. Searle & S.Sures
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
7/30
1. Num)ering (a)les .very table must be numbered/
*able 0, *able 1, etc/
)o not use *ableI, *able 2, etc/
Presenting (a)les *1+
,.(a)le (itles
.very table must have a title/
2 good title presents the name of the ma3or variable orvariables and the type of analysis/
Eample (a)le 1 re/uen" of attendan"e in "lass
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
8/30
. 2eadings 3itin te ta)le
eadings tell the reader what variables are beingpresented and establish the organisation of thetable/
4ariable4ariable !ean!ean S)S)
2ge 5/67 0/58
Presenting (a)les *,+
4. (a)le 5od
*he table body contains the data and-or numbers
Round numbers to improve readability 9whole-one )'-two )'
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
9/30
. (a)le Notes$eneral: 'rovide information about the table as a whole,
including the meaning of symbols or abbreviations/
Spe"ifi": Refer to the content of a particular cell/
Pro)a)ilit: #ndicate the outcome of significance tests/
EampleEample
Note.;rom National >/
a/ *hese cases did not provide valid answers/? p @ /85
Presenting (a)les *+
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
10/30
Continuous or Dis"rete data7
Continuous A every point on a line graph is valid e/g/ speed,acceleration, population growth, resource usage, sales, plottedagainst timeB or conversion graphs e/g/ oC to o;, or to D/9graph
Discrete A i/e/ not directly related to other items of informationbeing plotted: it occurs in distinct steps e/g/ children per family,population in one country compared with another at the sametime/ 9chart
Charts&raphs
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
11/30
Continuous data 8 $!AP2S *1+
Simple grap
+ine to show increases anddecreases
Slope of line shows intensity
of activity and trends overtime
#ultiple grap
Shows trends of morethan one thing
Use of solid, dotted and
bro"en lines Use of colour
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
12/30
Continuous data *,+
Di'ided9"ompound grap 4alues of total and its parts
2lternate sections shaded orcoloured
S"atter grap *s"attergram+ Single dot plotted against
scales on 1 axes
!ay be independentvariables
Not 3oined by a line EscatterF gives the message
Use in statistical correlations
Points to remem)er
#nclude and emphasisea Gero on vertical scale
Carefully choose andindicate scales
2nnotate the axes
2istograms
'atterns behind large volumesof figures
#nformation divided into
EintervalsF 4ertical scale H Efre(uencyF
Columns do not need samewidth
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
13/30
$rap "onstru"tion8good pra"ti"e *1+ +abel each axis with a full description of the variable it represents
including units 9if appropriate/
)o not EcrowdF the axis with scale values 9approximately IA6 ma3orintervals/
)o not plot data points on the axes themselves/
Choose an appropriate resolution for the graph/ #f the data isremote from the origin then do not include the origin/
*itle should be meaningful and brief9but full
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
14/30
+egend should be informative and comprehensive
)ifferentiate lines primarily by style and-or thic"ness 9then bycolour if necessary
.mphasis the Gero line by ma"ing it heavier than any otherlines/
Carefully choose and clearly indicate the scalesB the scalechosen can distort the figures/ 9see next slide
2nnotate the axes
$rap "onstru"tion8good pra"ti"e *,+
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
15/30
$rap "onstru"tion8good pra"ti"e *+
Small 'erti"al s"ale:arge 'erti"al s"ale
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
16/30
Dis"rete and non-"ontinuous data *1+
5ar "arts
Juic" comparisons
Can predict trends
Di'ided *"omponent+ )ar "art Kars divided into parts to
compare constituents as wellas the total value
.ach part shaded-coloured
and "ey provided
#ultiple )ar "arts
Compare any differentitems
Kars set in group
Population pramid Koth age and sex
structure of population
Kuilding up the agegroups
!ale vs/ female &rouped by ages e/g/ 0,
5, 08 years
Compare shape of twosides
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
17/30
loating )ar "arts
Kars EfloatF above orbelow a Gero line
2 balance line can also
be plotted
Points for )ar "arts
2lways include Gero
Keware EfalseF Geros
Kars not short andwide, nor long andnarrow
Separate bars by spaces
Dis"rete and non-"ontinuous data *1+
Pie "arts
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
18/30
Pi"torial "art
2daptation of bar chart
Uses symbols torepresent the sub3ect
Symbols should beuniform in siGe andappearance
;or nonAcomplex data
Statisti"al maps
Shows (uantitativeinformationgeographically
#ncludes dot or pin maps
Dis"rete and non-"ontinuous data *1+
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
19/30
Presentation of Num)ers *1+Epressing Num)ers as igures
$eneral !ule$eneral !uleUse figures to express numbers 08 and above, and words toexpress numbers below 08/
Correct #ncorrect
2 11 mm line a twentyAtwo millimetre line
*hree out of five groups M out of 5 groups
*wo 1 bills 1 1/88 bills, 1 1 dollar bills
E"eptionsE"eptionsNumbers that represent statistics, percentages, fractions,decimal numbers, ratios, percentiles and (uartiles arerepresented as figures/ 2 mean of M/5I , *able 0
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
20/30
$eneral !ule$eneral !ule
Use words to express numbers below 08 that do not representprecise measurements and that are not grouped for comparisonwith numbers 08 and above/
Correct #ncorrect
2bout seven or eight about 7 or >
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
21/30
Presentation of Num)ers *+Com)ining igures and Words to Epress Num)ers
$eneral !ule$eneral !uleUse a combination of figures and words to express rounded largenumbers and bac"AtoAbac" modifiers/
Correct #ncorrect
2bout M thousand about three thousand
2 net loss of 0 billion a net loss of oneAbillion dollars
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
22/30
Additional "e"klists - general #s it numbered$
)oes it have a title$ #s it referred to in the text$
#s it explained-discussed in the text$
#s it well presented and clear$
#s all the information necessary$ 2re headings-scales-labels etc included$
Additional "e"klists - ta)le )oes each column have a clear title and the correct units$
)o all values have consistent and appropriate accuracy$
9i/e/ No of decimal points
2re all columns necessary$
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
23/30
Additional "e"klists 8 graps9"arts
2re the parameters on the correct axes$
2re axes labelled correctly$
2re the axes and scales drawn so that:A tere is enoug spa"e for titles and la)els- te grap is not "ompressed on eiter ais$
2re different points and lines distinguishable$ 9not
everyone sees in colour/
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
24/30
Additional "e"klists 8 diagrams9potos
)oes it show what is needed and give no more$ 2re scale, labels and "ey given if needed$
2re photos of sufficient (uality$ 9beware of images from web pagesthey are usually low resolution i/e/ 75 )'#, typically M88)'#minimum
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
25/30
Writing Skills - good pra"ti"e *1+
%rite in the *#R) person not the first 9i/e/ donFt use E#F,this is generally not appropriate for technical -scientificreports/
2void sarcasm, humour, irony, levity or satire/
*ry not to use slang, vulgarisms or regionalisms/ %here possible attempt to write in short sentences,approximately 18 words maximum 9this should result ina more concise and focused writing style
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
26/30
Use the =>SSprinciple 9=eep >t Short and Simpleavoid EpaddingF
2void a patronising or pompous manner in yourwriting
%rite in the past tense
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
27/30
Dissertation presentation *1+
%ord processed Use 2rial 00 for main text
Space the dissertation, do not crowd the pages/ #f there are largenumbers of tables and graphs, place them in the appendix
.nsure proper use of paragraphs/ +arge bloc"s of text are
difficult to read/
'lace a double or single line gap between paragraphs/
+eave clear margins/
)o not mix fonts, a maximum of two is acceptable 9for text and
for titles for graphs, tables photographs
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
28/30
.nsure all pages are numbered/ )o not include unnecessary graphics or pictures, which are not
referred to in the report/
;ully 3ustify the text 9i/e/ e(ual margins on each side of the text
.nsure images are of good (uality, have a figure number and
title/
;ew tables, or if needed for explanation, could go into the bodyof the main text/
+arge data sets or a large number of graphs may be moreappropriate in the appendix of a report
*ext in tables does not contribute to the word count
Dissertation presentation *,+
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
29/30
Editing & proof reading
READ YOUR WORK AGAIN !
GET SOMEBODY ELSE TO READ IT !
CHECK THAT YOU HAVE YOU MET OR
ANSWERED ALL THE OBJECTIVE
Editing Read through without stopping spelling-meaning-titles-format !ar" doubtful passages as you go
!a"e corrections once fully read through
;inal chec"sT/Wen ou tink ou a'e finised
inal stage +ast minute alterations before printing allow for printing time
and in 9get a receipt
7/26/2019 Data Presentation & Writing Skills QR
30/30
Novice writers find it difficult to start/ %ith many reasonsfor their failure to put pen to paper/
.ven when finally seated, diversions appear:
ma"e the coffee,
sharpen the pencil,
go to the bathroom,
chec" more literature,
Remember that you are never EreadyF to writeB writing issomething you must ma"e a conscious decision to do andthen discipline yourself to follow it through/
*#!. !2N2&.!.N* #S 4#*2+