Team Recommendation Report
Charts & Graphs
ANALYZING DATA then CHARTING THAT DATA for your ANALYSIS
Your team will collect data through a local study or other data collection option. [See Local Study for tips]
USE DATA TO SUPPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
Once you have the data, your first challenge is to analyze it. What does the data mean? How can the sections be grouped? How will this support my recommendation?
RAW DATA versus SYNTHESIZED/PROCESSED DATA
The numbers you get from a survey by questionnaire gives you "raw data"--just numbers. Savvy researchers do not share the raw data. They analyze it to assess what it means, group segments, and share those bigger ideas in a chart.
HELPFUL page on charts and getting creative
https://commadot.com/pie-charts-are-almost-always-bad-ux/
YOUR CHALLENGE IS TO GROUP and SYNTHESIZE DATA TO BUILD MEANINGFUL CHARTS that SUPPORT YOUR RECOMMENDATION
Your section of the Analysis should have at least one visual [like a chart] that you describe in detail AND apply to your recommendation idea within one of the paragraphs in your Analysis section.
OPTION: BORROW A VISUAL
If you do not get data for your section from the local study, you can use a chart or infographic you found on the internet, but it must be integrated into paragraph-commentary in addition to being shared in your section.
Bad: Raw Data
Better: Synthesized/Processed Data
THE VISUAL
The chart itself needs a clear title, legend, and caption commenting on its relevance to your Analysis materials--the Analysis is where you "prove" your recommendation is a good idea.
THE PARAGRAPH
In addition, there must be a paragraph within your Analysis section that comments on the chart's data: write clearly and specifically so that someone knows all of the relevant information WITHOUT even looking at the chart.
INTERNAL REDUNDANCY + INFORMATIONAL INDEPENDENCE
BOTH the chart and the paragraph must be developed thoroughly enough to stand on their own--without the other nearby.
Why? Some people who open the report on their phone may only see one or the other.
So, both the paragraph and the chart should tell the complete data story and reiterate what is on the chart or in the paragraph: think DOUBLE the ways of showing the same data.
GO BEYOND RAW NUMBERS
The local study gives you raw data. That's the starting point. Do math, group sections, then build a chart based on SYNTHESIZED data that better illustrates what the information "means" in relation to the recommendation [or to the client's challenge].
For example, if 23% of respondents said that they prefer seasonal coffee specials to a regular coffee menu, you would help clarify what that means to your readers by applying it in a practical way.
For instance: One in four survey respondents said that they prefer seasonal specials, like pumpkin spice in the fall, to your traditional coffee menu. That means one in every four customers who stands in front of the cash register would feel better about their cafe experience if they had the option of purchasing a seasonal special--even if they did not purchase the seasonal option, coffee drinkers reported that they feel better about visiting a cafe when they have seasonal options.
How To:
Charts & Graphs MUSTS
Every visual in the
body of your W231 recommendation report will have four identifiers:
-
Figure Number
-
Title
-
Key
-
if not clearly stated in the X and y axis
-
-
Caption/ Legend
Figure Numbers, Titles, and Keys/Legends/Captions.
Like other aspects of professional writing, different professionals have different definitions of what these items are, as well as best practices. Like all other writing, rhetorical context matters.
If you're attending Duke University, you would refer to their rules for charts and graphs.
If you're at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, their Writing Center provides a helpful guide to charts and graphs.
The Duke and UNC links demonstrate how to best use and label graphs and tables. These two links, in concert with your textbook chapter, are excellent guides to your chart/table/graph design choices.
Your textbook is a wonderful resource for best practices with charts and graphs. Take a moment to track it down and carefully read the chapter. This is a skill set that will help you in your other classes and in your career.
VISUAL from Bates College:
"Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Making Tables and Figures"
NEEDED in YOUR Recommendation Report:
-
The Bates page takes absolute potions that differ from W231 expectations for your report.
-
Both figure numbers and titles, in addition to captions or legends, are needed in your Recommendation Report.
Stuck on how to collect
and analyze data?
CLICK HERE to find out how YOU can make stellar-looking AND meaningful charts and graphs.
MATERIALS BELOW
Part 1: Creating Charts and Graphs in W231 with Internal Redundency
Part 2: Citing Charts, Graphs, and Images in Your Report
USING VISUALS TO SUPPORT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
Creating Charts and Graphs for
Your Team Report
Building a strong recommendation report includes creating visual appeal.
-
A component of visual appeal is engaging and guiding the clients as they read.
-
A second component is visual appeal is information management. Visuals simplify and clarify complicated information.
The visuals in your report will reinforce and clarify important ideas. We explored design concepts for visuals in a Writing Project 1 PowerPoint:
"Designing Slides: Visual Companion Pieces for Presentations."
For the record: Your textbook has excellent
materials on designing reports and building
charts/graphs to support your local study.
Read and re-read these chapters. Use
this website as a guide for implementation
of textbook concepts. The website is your
support tool rather than your primary tool.
After reading the text, there are a few big ideas to keep in mind while you create supporting visuals. One unexpected requirement of chart design is internal redundancy.
INTERNAL REDUNDANCY
Redundancy is part of professional writing. [Notice that I just repeated that three times.] Headings alert readers to key concepts coming in the next paragraph. The topic sentence repeats what is in the paragraph; then the paragraph repeats the material on a precise, micro-level.
The images you share will also repeat data from the paragraph. Some readers focus on the image and skip the text. Other readers read the text and skip the image. Invested readers will engage both. The information will repeat big ideas and data. The text will provide analysis and help the audience know what the charts mean for your project.
CHARTS/GRAPHS MUST HAVE:
FIGURE NUMBERS, TITLES, and KEYS/ LEGENDS/ CAPTIONS
Every visual in the body of your W231 recommendation report will have four identifiers:
-
Figure Number
-
Title
-
Key (if not clearly stated in the X and y axis)
-
Caption/ Legend
Like other aspects of professional writing, different professionals have different definitions of what these items are as well as best practices. Like all other writing, rhetorical context matters.
If you're attending Duke University, you would refer to their rules for charts and graphs instructions: https://guides.library.duke.edu/datavis/topten
If you're at University of Noth Carolina, Chapel Hill, their Writing Center provides a helpful guide to charts and graphs. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/figures-and-charts/
The Duke and UNC links demonstrate how to best use and label graphs and tables. These two links in concert with your textbook chapter are excellent guides to your chart/table/graph design choices.
Your textbook is a wonderful resource for best practices with charts and graphs. Take a moment to track it down and carefully read the chapter. This is a skill set that will help you in your other classes and in your career.
Everyone likes visuals to explain and reinforce important ideas. Creating a well-designed visual takes time and a close eye for detail. Then, use them to compel your client that your recommendations are smart choices.
BEYOND THE CHART:
IMAGES and OTHER VISUALS + Don't Forget the Credits with D. J. Oesch-Minor (2019)
You're welcome to use photos and other visuals if they help support your analysis section. Some teams label these a Figures; others include them more like a newspaper might, with a title and caption. This decision is up to your team. The key is to be consistent. The same signaling tools you use in one instance should be used in every instance.
The New York Times is a great resource if you want to look at best practices in publishing.
Title, Caption, and Credit
The New York Times article by Peter Libbey explores the dangerous misadventures of one Salvador Dali painting. Within the article, there are small titles that signal what each photo shows, then captions and credits.
-
The title provides clear context/ it isn't catchy or playful--be detailed and specific.
-
The caption explains the what and why for including the photo.
-
The credit line identifies who took the photo/ or created the visual.
Be sure to include an image title that anchors the visual to a specific moment in your writing.
Images/Visuals must have captions
and credits
Visuals must be commented on in the text too
Images/Visuals need titles
Part 2:
Citing Visuals You Borrow from the Internet
Student Question:
"Do we need to cite every image we include in our wix and where should those references go?"
Response
Hello Levi:
-You do not need to cite images you borrow from WIX on the WIX.
-You do not need to cite images, charts, or graphs that you and other team members generate, unless you want your name (as an individual) associated with the visual.
-You do need to cite images that you borrow from other places.
Protocol for citing photos gets dicey because many of the internet pages where photos appear also borrowed the photos from other places. However, if you see an attribution below a photo, it does need a formal citation in the References as well as a parenthetical citation. Below the image, you would place the first word from the Reference entry and the year like other citations.
An acceptable option is to make the visual a hyperlink to its place of origin on the internet -AND- have a citation on the References.
For details on Reference entries, visit State College Florida's Library Page. https://libguides.scf.edu/c.php?g=847004&p=6077102
Because image "borrowing" on the internet has become ubiquitous, the rules are in flux. This is not good news for professional photographers.
Let me know if you have other questions.
All Best!
Debbie Oesch-Minor, IUPUI
IU School of Liberal Arts
Department of English
Senior Lecturer