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Loyola University Chicago Libraries

Library Workshops: Visualize Your Research

A guide to current and past workshops offered by the Loyola Libraries.

Visualize Your Research Class Slides

Download the power point slides from the Visualize Your Research class.

Teaching Data Visualization Presentation

See a prezi of a poster session, titled Teaching Data Visualization, presented by Sarah Morris and Gabrielle Annala at the 2014 IACRL Conference.

Teaching Data Visualization

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Data Visualization and Infographics

What is data visualization and what are infographics?

Data visualization is a way for you to represent and present information using visuals such as charts, graphs, images, etc.

Infograhpics are, in a nutshell, another way of referring to data visualizations. Infographics are graphic, visual representations of information.

See the links below for resources to help you create data visualizations, information about what makes a good visualization, and links to sites where you can check out data visualizations for inspiration.

Image created by Ivan Cash at http://ivancash.com/Infographic-of-Infographics

Using Data Visualizations

Why use data visualizations?

  •  New way to communication information
  • Can lead to new insights for yourself and your audience
  • Great for presentations
  • “The very best [infographics] engender and facilitate an insight by visual means — allow us to grasp some relationship quickly and easily that otherwise would take many pages and illustrations and tables to convey” – David Byrne, The Best American Infographics of 2013 via BrainPickings.org

What makes a data visualization effective?

Good data visualizations should:

  • Clarify rather than distort data or information
  • Be easy to understand
  • Tell a coherent story and have a clear point
  • Present information relevant to the topic at hand

Remember, certain types of visuals do a better job of representing certain types of information. For instance, bar charts can be easier to read when you're comparing multiple items. Learn more about choosing the right type of visualization with this chart about charts from Edward Tufte.

And be sure to check out Edward Tufte's blog for information on data visualization best practices and this Lifehacker blog post on Tufte and data visualization.

Image created by Edward Tufte and retrieved via Lifehacker.

Links and Resources

Inspiration for data visualizations

Resources for creating data visualizations