Final Project

Jia Zhang
3 min readOct 14, 2021

In teams of 2–3, you will gather, analyze, synthesis and represent data interactively on a subject of your choosing. The final project is an opportunity for you to explore a topic that you are interested in. The final allows you to plan in detail and produce a data-driven story which you can tell visually and interactively. Some class time will be devoted to getting feedback on your progress each week.

Getting started

If you already have a dataset you would like to work with…

start by gaining an understanding of the limits and capabilities of the dataset to answer particular questions.

Get the summary statistics of the dataset — dimensions, size, averages, distributions -

Refer to different types of scales(nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) and what operations can be conducted with them.

Choose summary methods that align with your dataset.

Using the summaries and your new understanding, look for trends, outliers, and relationships within this dataset and think about the types of stories you can tell with it.

If you have an area of interest that you would like to explore…

Start by posing an initial question whose answers would address one of these interests.

Think about the possible dataset that you would need in order to answer your question and search them out.

You may have to adjust your questions in scope or focus as you navigate the available datasets.

You may find a dataset in your search that allows you to formulate a new question to pursue.

In both cases above — Ask yourself…

What kind of story is it? For example:
Is it a story about change?
Is there a subset of the data that forms an interesting relationship to the whole?

Has your project been done? Do a search of existing projects that relate to your subject.
How can you improve on the existing?
Are there unique characteristics or aspects of this data or story that is not well publicized or widely communicated?
Are there crucial groups of audiences missing because of how data is currently presented?
Are there better representations than what is currently used?

Are there peripheral but related datasets that support your project?
For example: Think about qualitative data such as personal experiences or anecdotes that will round out your visualization.

Evaluation

The general criteria for evaluating your project is based on whether it is clear, engaging, and effective.

  • Effective communication of data
  • Sensible and functional interaction
  • Appropriateness of technical implementation and visual components
  • Clear storytelling and motivation
  • Visual design
  • Also refer to the “Reading Visualizations” worksheet for specific questions.

Schedule and Deliverables

Week 0— 10/15 Project Assignment
No Deliverable, project assignment in class.

Week 1— 10/22 Groups formed and Topic chosen
Deliverable: due Friday after class- Email to instructor with your team and general topic

Week 2— 10/29 Your dataset and your question
No Deliverable, be ready to discuss what you picked as your data and why

Week 3–11/12 Project Iteration and troubleshooting
No Deliverable, schedule time for project as needed

Week 4— 11/5 Your dataset insights + storyboards = Your project pitch
Deliverable:
5 minute project pitch presentation that includes your data insights, a written narrative that is supported by your data, rough plans of how many and what kind of charts you will make. Submit to canvas as google slides or pdf Thursday midnight before class

Week 5— 11/19 Project Iteration and troubleshooting
No Deliverable, individual group meetings and project updates during class. Please bring your computers with working code and project in progress to class.

Thanksgiving Break

Week 6— 12/03 Final project iteration and troubleshooting
No Deliverable, schedule time for project as needed

Week 7–12/10 The final showcase with guests
Deliverable:
Final Presentation submitted to Canvas Thursday before class.
Final project submission to canvas
after class.

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