Slices, Bars, Lines, and Cells:More

Information on Visuals

By Dr. Jennifer L. BowieBusiness Writing

Using Visuals• Always:

– Give it a table or figure number– Provide a short descriptive title– Refer to it in your text while letting the reader know

what they should be looking for (introduce & interpret it)

– Provide a caption (optional, but necessary if the visual is not interpreted within the text)

• Label tables as tables and all other visuals as figures

Examples of the correct use:In the survey, I also asked for year in

college so I could compare differences based on college experience. Because the survey technical communication course is a sophomore-level course, I expected the largest number of students to be sophomores. However, there were equal numbers of sophomores and juniors who participated in the second level of research, 12 each. There were fewer first year students and seniors, four and five students respectively. Figure 4.4 shows a pie chart of the participants’ year in college.

12%

37%36%

15%

1st year

Sophmore

Junior

Senior

Figure 4.4: Participants’ Year in College

The cream text shows the interpretation, the pink text shows my introduction of the visual.

Tables• Best for organized lists of data• May be harder to understand• Two categories:

– Numeric: present quantitative information– Prose: present qualitative information

• Use to:– present exact numbers/values and see exact

comparisons– organize data so people can see relationships

themselves

Tables: Numerical Example

Gender and Sex Number of Participants

Androgynous Females 5

Androgynous Males 5

Undifferentiated Females 5

Undifferentiated Males 2

Feminine Females 5

Feminine Males 2

Masculine Females 4

Masculine Males 5

Table 4.1: Stratified Categories of Participants in Level Two by Gender and Sex

Tables: Prose ExampleArea Examinedfor Sex/GenderDifferences

ResearchQuestion

Methods

Navigation methods 1a Coded observations from theusability testing and answers frominterview questions (specifically 3and 8)

Orientation behaviors 1b Coded observations from theusability testing and answers frominterview questions (specifically 3and 7)

Back button use(frequency and typesof use)

1c Coded observations from theusability testing and answers frominterview questions (specifically 8)

Table 1.1: Methods Used for the Research Questions and Corresponding Areas

Graphs:• Display numeric relationships between data sets• Translate numbers into visuals• Display approximate values• Good for making judgments about data• Best for comparisons, changes over time,

patterns or trends• Horizontal axis list categories to be compared• Vertical axis displays range of values• 2 major types…

Graphs: Bar Graphs• Show discrete comparison • Each bar represents a change in quantity• Best used to either

– Focus on one value OR– Compare values that change over time

intervals

Graphs: Bar Graphs Example

109

12

5

9

32

21

0

5

10

15

20

25

Androgynous Undifferentiated Feminine Masculine

Sex

# of

Par

ticip

ants

FemalesMales

Figure 4.1: Stratified Categories of Participants by Gender and Sex

Graphs: Line Graphs• Can accommodate more data points than

a bar graph• Help readers synthesize large bodies of

info where exact values are not important• Display data with values that change over

time

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

Month

Num

ber o

f Pat

rons

CoffeeHouse

Bookstore

Graphs: Line Graphs Example

Table 1: Patrons Trends for 2003

Charts• Figures that displays relationships• Several types:

– Pie Charts– Organizational Charts– Flowcharts– Gantt & PERT Charts– Pictograms

Charts: Pie Charts• Show parts or percentages of a whole• Normally easy to understand• Allow easy comparison of parts to each other

and whole• When creating make sure:

– Parts add up to a whole (100%)– Number of segments range from 2-8– Small segments can be combined into “other”

category– Keep labels horizontal for ease of reading

Charts: Pie Charts Example

28%

25%

33%

14%

Androgynous

Undifferentiated

Feminine

Masculine

Figure 4.2.A: Distribution of Females into the Four Genders

Charts: Organizational Charts• Divide organization

into management or administrative parts

Charts: Flowcharts• Traces process

or procedures from beginning to end

• Shows the steps in process

http://www.ldolphin.org/SciMeth2.html

Charts: Tree charts• Shows how

parts of concept or idea relate to each other (outlines, family trees)..

From: http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/skywalker/

Charts: Gantt and PERT Charts• Gantt:

– Shows process as a function of time

– Illustrates a schedule

– Includes start and finish dates

– Good for planning and tracking time

• PERT:– Related to Gantt– Used for scheduling

activities on a project

From: http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me4054/assignments/gantt.html

Charts: Pictograms/Pictographs• Show numerical

relationships with icons or symbols of the measures instead of bars or lines

• Good for non-technical and multicultural audiences (as long as the icon transfers) From:

http://www.mathstutor.com/DataCharts.html#anchor590137

Graphic Illustrations• Show physical

relationships, instead of numerical relationships

• Include:– Diagrams– Maps– Drawings– Photographs

From: http://www.rollaway.com/3000_ex_diag.htm

What do you think of this?

From:http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

The End