For my lab, I decided to create a bar chart for the data set we were given. The bar chart I created shows the total count for each name in the data set, showing us which names were the most popular in the data set. I thought this graph style was appropriate for this data because it allows the viewer to really see the difference in the popularity of some names. I felt the bar chart was the best way to visualize the data in a meaningful way. To improve the clarity of my graph, I flipped the coordinates so that it was easier to get a good view of the data. I also made the bars a plethora of colors so that the data is easier to compare. I thought that the article What Gets Counted Counts by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren Klein was interesting. I definitely agree that it is important to be inclusive when asking questions as that can affect the data we have and how that data is interpreted affects our decision-making. I think my data visualization relates to digital humanities because I think it is important to really present your data visualization in a way that makes the viewer instantly drawn to the visualization. I think it’s important to find ways to enhance data and make it easy to interpret for those who may not be as informed on your data set.
2 thoughts on “Data Visualization Lab”
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I agree. The bar chart is easy on the eyes, and it’s a nice and clear visualization that showcases the most to least popular names. I found it interesting that gender was not split into two different graphs; I think factoring all the names and ranking made it easier to compare. However, I am a bit confused about what the darker shades of the blue mean. Overall, I think this is a very effective data visualization.
I love the way you chose to visualize this, I think this is the best way to put every single name into one chart and not have it be very busy. I appreciate that you made the bars different colors as a way to make the individual bars easier to understand. I think it would have been interesting to not only do all the names rolled into one graph but two more graphs with just male and just female names to better see any patterns in the individual groups. Overall though this looks great!