RESEARCH METHODS

DATA PRESENTATION TOOLS

Lesson 10 NUST, 2012

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 Learning Objectives
 To enable participants to understand

• The right methods to use for data presentation in

research

• The significance/purpose of data presentation

tools

• Considerations for choice of appropriate data

presentation design.
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 Data Presentation
 Descriptive statistics enable us to understand data through summary
values and graphical presentations.

 Descriptive statistics can be illustrated in an understandable fashion by

presenting them graphically using statistical and data presentation
tools.

 Presentation and display of data resulting from measuring and

monitoring a process or product involves more than just
drawing graphs.

 Effective data presentation includes understanding the type of

data to be utilized, who the intended audience is, and how the
information will be used.

 No graph can tell you everything you need to know. It is necessary to

combine graphs with narrative discussions to help the reader
understand the data in the proper perspective related to findings.
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 Why Present Data?
Many people can grasp the information presented in
other forms better than in a text format. The purpose
of data presentation is to:
 Summarize the data

 Enhance textual descriptions

 Describe and explore the data

 Make comparisons easy

 Avoid distortion of information/data

 Provoke thought about the data

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 Data Presentation -
Considerations
 Good data presentation involves making it easy for
readers to understand and interpret the data, and
identify any key patterns or trends.
 Issues to consider:

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 Considerations
Data
 The nature of your data.
 Number of items: many or just a few.
 Whether data form a time series or reflect a single
point time period.
 Do they relate to a single geographic area or many?

Purpose
 What are you presenting the data for, and do you
need to use all of it?
– You may wish to review and analyze the data in detail, but
often it will be more appropriate to summarize and just draw
out a few key facts. 6
 Considerations
Audience.
 It is important that anything you present is
appropriate for your target audience.

Medium.
 Your output should suit the medium of presentation
e.g. computer files, flip chart, thesis etc.

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 Guidelines
 Results should be presented in a sequence that follows the
logic of the research objectives, or the hypothesis being
tested.

 Only data pertinent to the subject should be presented.

 Where possible present numerical data in tables or figures

 conclusions drawn from numerical data should be supported
statistically.
 Important negative results should not be left out, even
though these might undermine the proposed hypothetical
statements.

 If you are to use charts, graphs tables and maps, it is a good

idea to include them in the body of your document.

 All graphs and tables should have informative titles above

them and their source below them. 8
 Tables
 Tables simplify and organize information into groups.

 Tables present a synopsis of your raw data.

 For detailed reference data tables are ideal.
 For portraying a message, demonstration tables with small
amounts of data can be very effective
 but
 less eye-catching than charts and maps, and large
tables can be intimidating.

 If the data set is small, use a table, which saves

space and is easier to read.
 Try to keep the table on one page. 9
 Tables
Ite Agencies under Land Total Existing Total Percentag
m Administration Man- Human Gap or e
No power Resourc Vacant
Required e
1 Land preparation and 23 13 10
development
43.5%

2 Land administration 16 10 6
and supply
37.5%
3 Infrastructural 14 9 5
development &
35.7%
engineering device
Total 53 32 21
39.6%

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 Frequency Distribution
Tables
 Give a record of the number Scores Frequency (f)
of times a score/response
occurs.
30 3
 e.g. in an educational
research on 20 students, 33 3
frequency distribution would
report the number of 34 4
students who scored 30, 33,
34, 35, or 36 points in a test . 35 5

What Frequency Distribution Tells Us: 36 5

1. It shows how the observations cluster
around a central value; and Total 20
2. It shows the degree of difference
between observations.
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 Frequency Polygon

 Another way of displaying information for an interval or ratio level

variable.
 Displays the area under the curve that is represented by the values of
the variable.
– displays the cumulative distribution of values for a variable.
 Also used to show time series graphs, or the changes in rates over time.

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 Bar Graph
 Bar graphs consist of an axis and a series of labeled
horizontal or vertical bars that show different values
for each bar.
 Bar graphs are one of the most common types of
graphs. A bar graph shows data at a “point in time”.
 Display the frequency distributions for variables
measured at the nominal and ordinal levels.
 Graphs can be drawn by hand or on a computer.
Programs such as Microsoft Excel, SPSS, produce
graphs and perform some statistical calculations.
 e.g environmental community survey was carried
out in CMC by an NGO and questionnaires were
administered to 40 respondents. Results are
summarized below;-
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 An Example of a Bar Graph
Environmental Problems in CMC Problems Percentage

50 Air Pollution 47.5

40 Noise 10
30 pollution
Percentage

20 Poor 28
10
drainage
0 Solid waste 12.5
Air Pollution Noise Polluion Poor Solid waste No response
darainage No response 2
Problems
Total 100

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 Time Series Line Graph
 Line graphs are used to show data points over time.

 Limit the number of trend lines so they don’t overlap and you
can’t tell which is which.

 Use colours that are very different from each other.

 Choose colors that contrast well with the background colour of

the chart.

Example

Urban Population in Moyale Town in Ethiopia for a given period.

No. Year Population Male
Female
1 2000 10 339 6000 5339
2 2005 12 687 7200 5487
3 2010 15 722 8600 712215
Line Graph...

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 Pie Chart
 Pie charts use slices to compare the sizes, amounts, quantities, or
proportions of various items or groupings of items.

 It’s a circle graph divided into pieces, each displaying the size of
some related piece of information. i.e. used to display the sizes of
parts that make up some whole.

 Are used to represent the distribution of the categorical

components of a single variable.

 The values are commonly given as a percentage or a proportion to

indicate divisions of a total amount or categories (add up to 100).

 They are used to show a “snap-shot” at a specific time.

Example
A study was carried out to establish the modes of transportation in
Holland city: bicycle 10%, car 25%, walking 24$, train 25%, tram
16%.
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 Pie- Chart Continued..

Source: Primary Data

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NB: Pie charts are rarely used because they have limited
 Histogram
 A histogram is a chart that is similar to a bar chart, but it
is used for interval and ratio level variables.

 It is used to show the distribution and variation not related

to time.

 With a histogram, the width of the bar is important, since

it is the total area under the bar that represents the
proportion of the phenomenon accounted for by each
category.

 The bars convey the relationship of one group or class of

the variable to the other (s).
 Example
Height of 50 Male Students measured to the nearest inch.
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 Histogram Continued..

Height In. No of
students
60 - 62 1

63 - 65 2

66 - 68 13

69 - 71 20

72 - 74 11

75 - 77 3
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 Scatter Diagrams
 Scatter diagram is a graph that shows the
relationship between two variables.

• Scatter diagrams are useful when the coordinates on

the horizontal scale, often time intervals, are
irregular.

• e.g. the following table shows the average poverty

level in the Kazanchis slum area per 1,000 residents
for the years 1980 to 1990.

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 Scatter Diagrams
Continued..
Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Povert 3.6 4.2 3.4 5.5 3.8 3.1 1.7 1.8 1.0 1.6 0.9
y level

Poverty Level in Kazanchis

5
poverty level

0
1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992
Years

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 Maps
 An excellent way of showing how data varies from
area to area.

 A map can add a geographical dimension to any

analysis. When using a map it may be possible to see
potential groups or clusters that could be present
within the data.

 It is also a powerful tool that shows how different

locations interact.

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 Photographs
A picture can tell a thousand words

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 Text
 Very simple, and can be useful for a small
amount of information.

 May draw out one or two key messages from an

accompanying diagram. But text is usually
visually unappealing, and a poor means of
displaying large volumes of data.

 e. g the unemployment rate in Merkato was 11%

in 2003, 10% in 2004, 9% in 2005

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 Choosing Data Presentation Tools-Types of
Data
• Different types of data require different kinds of
statistical tools.

• There are two types of data;

 Categorical data - countable data or data that can be
put into categories.

 Numeric - measurement data, based on some

continuous scale: e.g., length, time, cost.

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 How to Choose Data Presentation Tools

To Show Use Data Needed

Frequency of occurance: Bar chart Tallies by category (data can be
Simple percentages or Pie chart categorical data or numeric data divided
comparisons of magnitude Frequency table into categories)

Trends over time Line graph Measurements taken in chronological

order (categorical or numerical data can
be used)

Distribution: Variation not Histograms Many measurements (not necessarily in

related to time chronological order, categorical data)
(distributions)

Association: Looking for Scatter diagram Many paired measurements (measures

a correlation between two of both things of interest, numerical data)
things
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 Bibliography
• Agresti, A. 1996; An Introduction to categorical data analysis. New
York: John Wiley & Sons.

• Chan YH., 2003; Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) – Essentials,

Singapore Medical Journal; Vol 44(2):60-3.

• Bowers D, 1997; John Wiley and sons. Statistics from scratch for
healthcare professionals

• Wittwer, J.W., 2005; "How to Create a Timeline in Excel" from

Vertex42.com, http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelArticles/create-a-
timeline.html
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