The power of Data Visualization: Analyzing how world economics affects Average Life Expectancy(ALE).

THE POWER OF

VISUALIZATION

Visualizations and presentation by: Wellington PalmaData Source: World Bank Data provided through Tableau

By: Wellington C. Palma

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

• Part 1: Why use visualization?

• Part 2: The advantages and disadvantages of visualization.

• Part 3: Example of a visualization analysis.

PART 1

• Why use visualization?

• The advantages and disadvantages of visualization.

• Example of a visualization analysis.

BECAUSE IT IS EFFECTIVE!

Visualization…

• Helps analyze the data faster.

• Simplifies large data sets in a way that people can easily interpret.

• Shows trends that may not be apparent at first glance.

• Helps you find ways to frame the hypothesis differently.

• Offers new insight to your analysis.

• Reveals a more descriptive insight than averages.

PART 2

• Why use visualization?

• The advantages and disadvantages of visualization.

• Example of a visualization analysis.

Advantages

• Conveys a great deal of information quickly.

• Generates new ways to frame the Hypothesis.

• Easy to understand.

• Easy to use for decision making.

• Reveals how the average can be misleading.

Disadvantages

• The analysis is only as good as the interpretation.

• Averages can be misleading.

• Cannot be directly used for prediction.

• Although it is deeply insightful, it is mostly descriptive.

YOU CAN’T HAVE GOOD WITHOUT BAD…

PART 3

• Why use visualization?

• The advantages and disadvantages of visualization.

• Example of a visualization analysis.

RECIPE FOR AN AFFECTIVE VISUALIZATION

Step 1: Identify the question.

Framing the question correctly is the most important part of conducting any analysis. If you do not fully understand a client’s question, you may spend valuable time and money analyzing something that is worthless in the end.

Step 2: Find the data.

In this example, data from the World Bank was utilized. However, keep in mind that other data can be collected and merged to this source before doing the analysis.

Step 3: Prepare or Manage the data.

• This is where “cleaning the data” comes into play. This is the part of the data process where you “explore the data” and determine what data is missing or incorrect, and how you will account for it during your analysis. (In this example the data is already cleaned)

Step 4: Visualize the data.

Different types of visualizations can help the viewer think about the information in different ways. Visualizing is a vital part of data analysis because it may identify sub questions that may be worth answering.

Step 5: Draw Conclusions.

When communicating conclusions, it is best to start with your executive summary. This saves time for executives, and gets to the point quicker. Also, it helps engage your audience from the very beginning, and keeps them engaged throughout the presentation.

EXAMPLE PRESENTATIONStep 1: Question

What economic, social, and health factors influence the duration of a regions' average life expectancy (ALE)?

Step 2: Data Source

Data from the World Bank was uploaded into Tableau.

Dependent Variable :

Average Life expectancy (by region)

Independent Variables: GDP per capita Legal Human rights Gender (the data only designates male or female) Healthcare Expenditure per capita Healthcare Expenditure as a percent of the GDP Infant Mortality Transportation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• After reaching a certain point of Average Life Expectancy (ALE), Increased spending in healthcare is not conducive to increasing ALE.

• A higher healthcare expenditure as a percent of GDP does not directly increase ALE; therefore, increasing healthcare expenditure as a percent of GDP can be detrimental to an economy because resource are not optimally allocated.

• Infancy mortality may be the leading cause of lower ALE averages; thus, a country’s public policy should focus on decreasing infancy mortality rates in order to effectively increase ALE.

• A higher GDP per capita, comprehensive human rights laws, and increased access to transportation are major contributing factors to increasing ALE; thus, governments should align their public policy decisions to improve those conditions for its citizens.

THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: LIFE EXPECTANCY

Further Insights:• The dark

green regions indicate life expectancy.

• ALE is the highest in The Americas, Australia, and Western Europe.

LIFE EXPECTANCY BY REGION

Further Insights:• Europe has the

highest Average Life Expectancy (ALE), which may be expected.

• ALE in The Middle East is equal to ALE in the Americas.

• ALE in Asia and Oceania is not far behind compared to the U.S.

AVERAGE GDP PER CAPITA

Further Insights:• Europeans have a

higher GDP per capita than individuals in The Americas.

• The Middle East has a higher GDP per Capita than the Americas( If this seems questionable, keep in mind that this graph is based on Averages, and The Americas Include North and South)

LEGAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Further Insights:• When compared to Average

GDP per capita(the previous graph), Legal Human rights seems to have more impact on ALE.

• In this regard, The Middle East and Asia are outliers and do not follow the trend as well as the other regions.

• The outliers may suggest that other factors, combined with human rights may be the actual catalyst to increasing ALE.

GENDER

Females

Males

Further Insights:

• On Average, Females and Males tend to have equal life Expectancies.

• Eastern Europe is slightly an outlier with females outliving males.

• In Africa, Males tend to outlive females.

• Given the mostly equal shading between males and females, gender may not be relevant to ALE.

Reading the Map: Darker shade indicates higher ALE.

HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE PER CAPITA

Further Insights:

• If you closely examine the first graph, there appears to be a tipping point where an increase in healthcare expenditure per capita may actually decrease ALE. (Compare USA with UK).

• After a certain point, Increased spending in healthcare is not conducive to increasing ALE.

• The second graph highlights how averages can be misleading. (The US spends much more than the UK, but the Americas spend less than Europe)

HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE AS A PERCENT OF GDP

Further Insights:

• A higher healthcare expenditure as a percent of GDP does not directly increase ALE.

• An increase in healthcare expenditure as a percent of GDP has to be substantial to make a difference. (Compare top three “grouping” with middle three “grouping”)

• This may suggest that if a government is going to “throw money at a problem”… it has to be a substantial amount, to be truly effective.

INFANT MORTALITY

For Every 1k births Further Insights:

• Note that word clouds are a very effective tool to identify problem areas.

• The trend is clear: the more developed a region, the less infant mortality is prevalent.

• Infant mortality may be what is bringing the Average down for many of the low ALE regions.

TRANSPORTATION: PASSENGER CARS PER 1K

Further Insights:

• Transportation seems to be a somewhat important factor in increasing ALE.

• Since the data is based on the Average of regions, the Americas seem to have less passenger cars than The Middle East. (Always ask yourself “What’s behind that average?”)

THE POWER OF VISUALIZATION…ARE YOU

CONVINCED?• Visualization is impactful.

• It makes information easier to remember.

• The call to action is very easy to understand.

Pop Quiz….

If you are still on the edge of being convinced, try this little test. See if you can recall more than three facts from the presentation. If you can, congratulations! You have defeated the power of three. Which is a powerful force that Marketers, Managers, Public Policy leaders, and other leaders should understand, and in my opinion overcome.

If power of three link above does not work please check out the article here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/using-the-power-of-three-to-your-marketing-advantage-2013-5

CONTACT THE ME

If you found the presentation insightful or useful, please let me know. Also, if you just like what you see here and want to network with me, please feel free to contact me. My contact information is as follows:

Name: Wellington Palma

E-mail: [email protected]

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/wellingtonpalma/en