Define the term data visualization and explain what it can potentially achieve as compared to simple text.

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Description
Please read the each question below and answer respectively.

1. Define the term “data visualization” and explain what it can potentially achieve as compared to simple text.

2. Select two forms of data visualization and describe how each one formats visual information to make a statement.

3. Which form of visualization makes the greatest impact on you personally, and why?

Please read attached notes for reference.

1 page – 300 words are required. Please add citations and references page number for each citation in the paragraph. Example: (author name, year, p. xx). It?s required APA standard format. Prepare answer from your thoughts. This is master level degree so, the answer should be very clear and concise.

WEEK SEVEN
TOPIC 1: Data Visualization

Contents
1. What is Data Visualization?
2. Visualization Tools and Techniques

1. What is Data Visualization?
Data visualization is a general term used to describe any technology that lets people ?see? data in order to help them better understand the information in a business context.1

The old saying, ?a picture is worth a thousand words? is key to understanding the purpose of data visualization: it is often much easier for the human brain to observe, take in and understand the illustration of a concept or idea than it is to understand the words that are chosen to describe it.

Some common forms of data visualization are infographics, word clouds, dials, charts, graphs, and maps. Some have been around for decades, such as pie charts and bar graphs, and can be easier created through data in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Pie Chart
Bar Graph

Word Cloud

Time Series Chart

Infographic

Videos are also a great form of visualization, since there is much you can do with ?moving pictures? that cannot be expressed in exactly the same way in a static image. You can also combine music and voice narration with video, as well as apply anecdotes, examples and analogies that further help communicate the point of the message. Additionally you can slow down or speed up the motion of the video to further make a point visually.
Walk-through visualizations or walk-through animation (also called fly-by animation) is a term used in architectural visualization and in PC/video-games, when you can explore architectural environment and 3D objects from any angle you would like.2 One such example of a third-party tool that helps create a walk-through visualizations is called Lumion.
Regardless of the form of the visualization, the overall point is always to offer insight into the data being displayed, so the tool and form selected should be most capable of achieving this goal.

2. Visualization Tools and Techniques

Visualization tools go beyond the standard charts and graphs used in Excel spreadsheets, displaying data in more sophisticated ways such as dials and gauges, geographic maps, time-series charts, spark lines, heat maps, tree maps and detailed bar, pie and fever charts. Patterns, trends and correlations that might go undetected in text-based data can be exposed and recognized easier with data visualization software.2

Visualized data is frequently displayed in business intelligence (BI) dashboards and performance scorecards that provide users with high-level views of corporate information, metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). The images may include interactive capabilities, enabling users to manipulate them or drill into the data for querying and analysis. Indicators designed to alert users when data has been updated or predefined conditions occur, can also be included.3

Most business intelligence software vendors embed data visualization tools into their products, either developing the visualization technology themselves or sourcing it from companies that specialize in visualization.4
Below are some common visualization tools used in today?s business environment:

Tableau
Visual.ly
Google Fusion Tables
Infogram
SAP Crystal Reports
Oracle Business Intelligence
References:
1 http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/data-visualization
2 http://lumion3d.com/walk-through-visualization
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.

Images:
Page 1: Image courtesy of statmethods.net
Page 1: Image courtesy of ipsur.r-forge.r-project.org
Page 2: Image courtesy of apandre.wordpress.com
Page 2: Image courtesy of www.the-digital-reader.com