Lecture 29

Team Project

Byeong-Hak Choe

bchoe@geneseo.edu

SUNY Geneseo

November 22, 2024

Data Storytelling Project

Craft a Compelling Narrative Using Data

• Tell a Story, Not Just Show Numbers:
  • Data storytelling goes beyond presenting facts.
  • A narrative connects the data to real-world insights, engages the audience, and makes the findings memorable.
    
  • Identify a central theme or question your data addresses.
    
  • Frame the story around an issue, problem, trend, or decision-making process.
    
  • Use storytelling elements like cause and effect, puzzling phenomena, conflict, and resolution.

Craft a Compelling Narrative Using Data

• Explain “Why It Matters”:
  • Highlight the significance of the data.
    
  • Relate findings to real-world scenarios or challenges.
    
  • Address questions like:
    • What does this mean? How does it impact the audience or stakeholders?
• Leverage Background Knowledge
  • Understand the Context of Your Data:
    • Research the topic or industry related to your data.
      
    • Know key concepts, definitions, and common trends.
      
    • Example: If analyzing sales data, understand seasonal/geographic patterns, market dynamics, and customer behavior.

Craft a Compelling Narrative Using Data

• Ask Meaningful Questions:
  • Background knowledge allows you to formulate insightful questions to guide your analysis, such as:
    • Why is this happening?
      
    • What factors contribute to this outcome?
      
    • What actionable insights can be derived?
• Bridge Data and Audience Understanding:
  • Background knowledge helps translate complex data into insights that are accessible to your audience.
  • It allows you to anticipate questions and provide thoughtful answers.

Data Transformation Techniques

Make Data Work for Your Story:

• Use filtering, sorting, counting, and selecting to refine raw data.

  • Filtering: Narrow down data to specific conditions/categories
  • Sorting: Arrange data in a particular order
    • Helps identifying key categories (e.g., top 5 players/teams/stocks/locations)
  • Selecting: Choose specific variables of interest

• Focus on data points that align with your narrative.

• Feel free to get data transformation support from Byeong-Hak

Getting Started

1. Identify Variables of Interest
   • Select variables that are relevant to your story
   • Understand the context and meaning of each variable
2. Identify Categories of Interest
   • Filter categories that are relevant to your story
   • Understand the context and meaning of each category
3. Use Descriptive Statistics
   • Summarize data using skimr::skim()
   • Count the frequency of categories in a variable of interest
   • Relate initial ideas with central tendencies and dispersion

Data Visualization

1. Examine Distributions
   • Analyze how data points are spread across different values
   • Identify any outliers or anomalies in the data
   • Utilize histograms, box plots, and bar charts to visualize distributions
2. Explore Relationships Between Variables
   • Investigate how variables interact with each other
   • Use scatterplots and fitted lines
3. Analyze Time Trends
   • Observe changes in variables over time
   • Implement line charts and/or fitted lines to illustrate trends
4. Feel free to use other geometric objects

Data Visualization

Delving Deeper

• Distribution by Categories
  • Compare how distributions vary across different groups or categories
  • Employ faceted histograms or box plots for comparison
• Relationships by Categories
  • Examine if relationships between variables differ among groups
  • Use color-coded scatter plots or facets to highlight differences
• Time Trends by Categories
  • Analyze temporal trends within specific categories
  • Create multiple line charts or a facet for each category

Data Visualization

• Best Practices
  • Ensure visuals are clear, properly labeled, and easy to interpret
  • Use appropriate chart types for the data being presented
  • Maintain consistency in styling and formatting
  • Make visualization colorblind-friendly

Incorporating Visual Aids

• Enhancing Your Story with Images
  • Insert pictures or graphics related to your narrative
  • Use images to provide context or evoke emotions
• Types of Visual Aids
  • Photographs
  • Illustrations
  • Diagrams
  • Infographics (non-data-related)
• Guidelines
  • Ensure images are relevant and add value to your presentation
  • Use high-quality visuals that are clear and professional

Crafting Your Story

• Provide Background Information
  • Set the stage with necessary context and explanations
  • Explain the significance and relevance of your topic
• Narrative Structure
  • Introduction: Present your main question or objective
  • Body: Walk through your analysis step by step
  • Conclusion: Summarize key findings and insights

Presentation Tips

• Clarity and Simplicity
  • Use straightforward language appropriate for your audience
  • Avoid unnecessary jargon or technical terms without explanation
  • Start with a background story or necessary knowledges if needed
• Engagement
  • Incorporate visual aids to make your story more engaging
  • Highlight interesting or unexpected findings
• Practice
  • Rehearse to maintain flow and timing
  • Anticipate potential questions and prepare responses

Coding Tips for Better Workflow

• Comment Your Code
  • Use Command/Ctrl + Shift + C to add comments for clarity.
    
  • Leverage generative AI to generate meaningful comments.
    • Example: “Make an in-line comment on each line of this code: …”
• Debug Your Code
  • Use generative AI for troubleshooting and solutions.
    • Example: “The above code gives the following error: …”
• Organize with Sections
  • Create sections in your script using Command/Ctrl + Shift + R for better structure.
    
  • Navigate quickly by clicking “Outline” in the top-left of the script pane.

Save Your Code and Visualization Images

• Download Your R Script from Posit Cloud
  • In the Files pane, select the checkbox next to the R script you want to download.
    
  • Click the ⚙ (Gear Icon), then choose “Export” to save it to your local laptop.
• Save Your ggplot Output as an Image File
  • In the Plots pane, click “Export”, then select “Save as Image”.
    
  • Specify the file name, width (e.g., 600), and height (e.g., 400).
    
  • Click “Save” to save the image in Posit Cloud.
    
  • Export the image file to your local laptop.

Save Your ggplot Output Using the Zoom Feature

• Click “Zoom” on your ggplot to enlarge the plot.
  
• Adjust the size of the zoomed ggplot window:
  • Move your mouse cursor to any corner of the window.
    
  • Click and drag to resize the window as needed.
    
• Right-click (or click the trackpad with two fingers) on the zoomed image.
  
• Select “Save Image …” to save the plot locally to your computer.

Let’s Get Started!

• Be Creative
  • Think innovatively in your analysis and presentation methods
• Stay Curious
  • Let your questions and hypotheses drive your data exploration
• Have Fun
  • Enjoy the process of discovering insights and telling your data story