Presenting Data: How to Communicate Your Message Effectively E-Book

Ed Swires-Hennessy

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 180

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

A clear easy-to-read guide to presenting your message using statistical data

Poor presentation of data is everywhere; basic principles are forgotten or ignored. As a result, audiences are presented with confusing tables and charts that do not make immediate sense. This book is intended to be read by all who present data in any form.

The author, a chartered statistician who has run many courses on the subject of data presentation, presents numerous examples alongside an explanation of how improvements can be made and basic principles to adopt. He advocates following four key ‘C’ words in all messages: Clear, Concise, Correct and Consistent. Following the principles in the book will lead to clearer, simpler and easier to understand messages which can then be assimilated faster. Anyone from student to researcher, journalist to policy adviser, charity worker to government statistician, will benefit from reading this book. More importantly, it will also benefit the recipients of the presented data.

‘Ed Swires-Hennessy, a recognised expert in the presentation of statistics, explains and clearly describes a set of “principles” of clear and objective statistical communication. This book should be required reading for all those who present statistics.’
Richard Laux, UK Statistics Authority

‘I think this is a fantastic book and hope everyone who presents data or statistics makes time to read it first.’
David Marder, Chief Media Adviser, Office for National Statistics, UK

‘Ed’s book makes his tried-and-tested material widely available to anyone concerned with understanding and presenting data. It is full of interesting insights, is highly practical and packed with sensible suggestions and nice ideas that you immediately want to try out.’
Dr Shirley Coleman, Principal Statistician, Industrial Statistics Research Unit, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University, UK

Leseprobe

Presenting Data

How to Communicate Your Message Effectively

Ed Swires-Hennessy

Retired Government Statistician, UK

This edition first published 2014 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Swires-Hennessy, Ed. Presenting data : how to communicate your message effectively / Ed Swires-Hennessy. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-118-48959-8 (hardback) 1. Communication of technical information. 2. Statistics–Charts, diagrams, etc.. 3. Communication in science. I. Title. T10.5.S95 2014 001.4′226–dc23 2014014248

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-118-48959-8

Contents

Introduction

Notes

Preface

Audience

How to read

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Understanding number

1.1 Thousands separator

1.2 Decimal separator

1.3 Level of detail in comparisons

1.4 Justification of data

1.5 Basic rounding

1.6 Effective rounding

Notes

Chapter 2: Tables

2.1 Position of totals in tables

2.2 What is a table?

2.3 Reference tables

2.4 Summary tables

2.5 How tables are read

2.6 Layout of data in tables

2.7 Capital letters for table titles and headings in tables

2.8 Use of bold typeface

2.9 Use of gridlines and other lines in tables

Notes

Chapter 3: Charts (bar charts, histograms, pie charts, graphs)

3.1 How the user interprets charts

3.2 Written aims for charts

3.3 Scale definition and display

3.4 Difference between bar charts and histograms

3.5 Pie chart principles

3.6 Issues with pie charts

3.7 Graph principles

3.8 Issues with graphs

3.9 Pictogram principles

3.10 Comparative charts: Multiple pies, multiple bar charts, double scale graphs

3.11 Graphics

3.12 Three-dimensional charts

Notes

Chapter 4: Numbers in text

4.1 Numbers written as text

4.2 Ordering of data

4.3 Technical terms

4.4 Plain language

4.5 Emotive language

4.6 Key messages

Notes

Chapter 5: Data presentation on the Internet

5.1 The early years

5.2 Statistics on CD-ROMs

5.3 Data on the Internet

5.4 Charts on the Internet

5.5 Text on the Internet

Notes

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 1

Table 1.1

Table 1.2

Table 1.3

Table 1.4

Table 1.5

Table 1.6

Chapter 2

Table 2.1

Table 2.2

Table 2.3

Table 2.4

Table 2.5

Table 2.6

Table 2.7

Table 2.8

Table 2.9

Table 2.10

Chapter 3

Table 2.3

Table 3.1

Table 3.2

Table 3.3

Table 3.4

Chapter 5

Table 5.1

Table 5.2

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1 Adult population with only basic numeracy skills.

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1 Bonus bags.

Figure 3.2 Proper pictogram display.

Figure 3.3 Travel to work – within counties.

Figure 3.4 Travel to work – between counties.

Figure 3.5 Travel to work mode.