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FIGURE 3.3 The potential benefits of visualizing data
TABLES
Government data is commonly presented in tables and can be
easily understood. The use of tables in Excel can facilitate simple
manipulation of data such as ordering from highest to lowest.
Number of
inhabitants
Number of
schools
Ward 1
1,200
2
Ward 2
1,000
1
Ward 3
900
0
Ward 4
14,000
4
Ward 5
1,800
1
Ward 6
2,100
2
Ward 7
3,500
2
Ward 8
4,400
2
Ward 9
13,400
4
Ward 10
11,300
4
Ward 11
9,100
3
Ward 12
9,700
1
CHARTS & GRAPHS
Charts and graphs can help take information in tables and display
them in a way that helps show trends and outliers, and give new
insights. The graph below shows wards plotted as number of
inhabitants against number of schools.
Ward
Trendline
6
5
Number of schools
Ward name
4
3
2
1
MAPS
Maps can help take information in tables and display them in a
way that helps to reveal geospatial insights. The map below shows
schools plotted by location, combined with other information layers:
asphalt roads, land use, and satellite imagery of the urban area.
Schools &
universities
Asphalt
roads
Land use
Township
outline
Satellite
map
Outlier
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
Number of inhabitants
12,000
14,000
16,000