Public Affairs 6510: Skills: Conveying Quantitative Data in Public Affairs

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

• Have gained an understanding of the use of data visualization techniques
• Understand the visual qualities important to conveying data
• Manage and analyze data using Tableau software
• Manipulate and create visualizations and dashboards in Tableau
• Utilize Tableau to support decision making and communicate with decision makers

This course focuses on concepts of presenting data from initial concept to final presentation. A variety of methods are presented and discussed, to cover planning, data gathering, data analysis, and visual presentation, with an emphasis on presentation.

Class meetings will consist of two parts:

1. The first half of the class (approx.) will consist of lecture/discussion of data visualization theory and techniques. This will include discussion of any additional assigned readings and topics of interest for the class. 
2. The second half of the class (approx.) will be hands-on time with Tableau data visualization tools. This may include some additional instruction specific to Tableau, working with files, and working on examples and exercises.

Reading materials may be required for this course. Consult your instructor's syllabus for details.

The following components make up the final course grade:

• Exercise 1: 10%
• Exercise 2: 10%
• Exercise 3: 15%
• Case Study 1: 10%
• Case Study 2: 15%
• Final Project: 40%

Traditionally, a sketchbook is a sketch pad or notebook with blank pages used by visual artists to sketch their ideas as part of the creative process. It can also be used to practice basic forms (shapes, shading, patterns and anatomical renderings).

For this exercise, you will follow directions on the Tableau website to create a set of basic visualizations that you can use as templates in your own work (a sketchbook of visualizations, if you will). Because the tutorials are essentially "self-grading" (since each tutorial shows you what the visualization should look like at the end), I will not be providing detailed feedback on them. Rather, I will look through your workbook for completeness (i.e., were all the tutorials done) and only provide feedback if I spot any obvious problems. 

We will begin this tutorial exercise in class to create several basic data visualization “forms” in Tableau and collect them into a dashboard. You will complete the tutorial on your own. This exercise has three goals: (1) to continue to familiarize you with the Tableau program interface, (2) to present a further sampling of basic visualization types available in Tableau, and (3) to introduce the concept of a dashboard. You will turn in your Power Start Workbook as Packaged Workbook (.twbx) file.

New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has been a leader in making data accessible to their customers and stakeholders. For this case study (6 text pages max, exclusive of screen shots):

• Read The MTA in the Age of Big Data: Transforming the Wealth of MTA Data into Accessible, Meaningful, Visual, Interactive Information.
• Browse the MTA website ( https://new.mta.info/ ). Previously in beta for several years, the site is now fully operational and the result of the initiative described in your reading. As you browse, think about the intended audience for each part of the website, making note of the tools and information provided (e.g., trip-planning and customer self-serve tools for riders, data for policy makers and advocates for public accountability). Choose two of the available tools for RIDERS on the MTA site and write a brief critique (2 text pages max, exclusive of graphics) of these tools with respect to their ease of use and visual appeal. In your critique, address specifically whether or not the graphical design and presentation of the tool enhances its usefulness. Include screen shots of the tools you are critiquing.
• Next, turn your attention to the “Transparency” section of the MTA website (https://new.mta.info/transparency ). This is the type of information that you, as a manager in the public sector, will most likely be tasked with providing to stakeholders and the public. Browse the data provided and critique the presentation of the data in light of the MTA document you read. Are the transparency data presented in a way that lives up to the document’s title of being “accessible, meaningful, visual and interactive information”? Explain why or why not (either is acceptable, as long as you justify your answer), with examples (screen shots) from the website (2-4 written pages; screen shots should be appended to the written document and do NOT count toward the 2-4 page requirement).

Using Tableau and a dataset provided by your instructor on Carmen, create three visual representations of the data. (Alternatively, you may use a dataset of your own choosing, but please submit a sample to the instructor for approval before you begin work.) Submit your visualizations as a Packaged Workbook (.twbx) file. In a separate Word document, provide a brief explanation (no more than 1 page per viz) of each viz, including a description of the source data, the intended audience, and what you intended the visualization to communicate.

Read Transparency in Texas: Beyond Raw Data. Using ONE of the case studies in the report as a guide (Texas School District Finance Data, Legislative Budget Board Website, City of Kyle, or City of Manor: Transparency on a Budget), select a similar government agency in Ohio (state, county or municipal), locate the section of their website where they present similar data, and assess the strengths and weaknesses in their presentation of data. Be sure to take into account the intended audience. Let me know if you need assistance finding an appropriate agency to assess. Write up your assessment (3–5 pages), highlighting what the Ohio agency is doing right and/or what they can improve regarding how they present information. Include examples of their visual representations (data vizes) to illustrate your assessment. These should be screen shots appended to your written assessment; these do NOT count as part of the 3–5 pages). Grading of your assessment will be based on how you evaluate the selected agency data presentation/visualizations using criteria for effective data and graphics presented in class lectures and readings.

This assignment is intended to extend your skills beyond this course by learning from the examples of others. Tableau is a complex, powerful data visualization tool, and in this course we will only begin to explore its capabilities. Tableau is also very well supported by an extensive community of users from a broad array of professions. Chances are, when you need to apply Tableau to your own data, someone, somewhere has created Tableau visualizations like the ones you have in mind, or some that may inspire you to view your data in a new and engaging way. You will select a visualization from among the top-rated submissions to Tableau Public, or alternatively a Tableau visualization posted online that you locate yourself (links to eligible vizzes can be provided by the instructor on request). In Tableau, you will “reverse engineer” (deconstruct and recreate) the entire visualization to understand exactly how it was created. You will then write a step-by-step tutorial that another Tableau user could follow to create the visualization for themselves, with only the source data (and Tableau!) available to them. Include in your tutorial a description of the source data, a summary of the purpose and intended audience of the selected visualization, and your assessment of the most innovative, unique, or useful aspects of the visualization.

You will turn in:

• The tutorial as a Word document (summary, data description, step-by-step instructions, and a link to the visualization that you are emulating)
• Your reconstructed Tableau viz (NOT the file you downloaded) as a Packaged Workbook
• The source data for your viz (will require you to do a data extract from Tableau)
• Using only the extracted data and your tutorial instructions, I will attempt to construct your selected viz from scratch.

Suggestion: Though not required, you may wish to pair up with a classmate to peer- review one another’s tutorials. Trade tutorials and source data and attempt to build your classmate’s viz just from the instructions given. Then provide one another with feedback on any unclear instructions or gaps in the tutorial instructions. This approach will work best if you are working on different tutorials, so that each of you is a naive user, approaching your classmate’s viz for the first time. You may provide feedback on the tutorial instructions only; you may NOT tell your classmate how to fix problems with the tutorial or advise them on how to structure the source data for the tutorial. If you do pair up with a classmate, note the classmate’s name in your tutorial document summary.

Final Project Grading
The final project is worth 40 points. Points will be distributed as follows:

• Overview summary (including notes on visualization preparation, analysis, audience and source) (15 points)
• Step-by-step tutorial document (25 points)