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Data visualisation tools and techniques are used to add clarity and more effectively communicate information using graphical means. They are a useful way to intuitively add insight into datasets that might otherwise appear sparse or complex.
The online questionnaire included questions aiming to gauge, at a very basic level, the extent of user interest in basic online visualisation options such as charting or mapping. Users were asked to express how useful they feel provision of such tools will be, and to assign a loose priority to them. Question: Thinking about a 2011 Census Web dissemination system a) How useful would you find the following types of functionality and flexibility? b) What level of priority (high, medium, low) would you give these types of functionality? Table 1: Usefulness of charting and mapping functionality
Chart 1: Usefulness of charting and mapping functionality 
Table 2: Priority of charting and mapping functionality
Chart 2: Priority of charting and mapping functionality 
Around a quarter of respondents felt that the inclusion of a charting facility in a Census dissemination system would be very useful. A further quarter expressed an opposing view. The inclusion of this functionality was a low priority for just over half of all respondents and a high priority for less than 15 per cent. In comparison, support for the inclusion of a facility to map output within a Census dissemination system was somewhat more positive – 39 percent think it will be very useful and 44 percent at least of some use. A higher proportion of respondents feel that the facility to map rather than chart output will be very useful. Mapping output is rated as a high priority by just over a quarter of all respondents but a low priority for nearly a third. When broken down by user sector the results do not prove to be too surprising. It is to be expected that users who are experienced and regularly use and analyse data in depth would have their own methods and systems in place to perform their analysis either visually or otherwise. More casual or infrequent users, or users outside of an established data handling environment, are more likely to want and use predefined visualization tolls provided with the source data and this is reflected in the results. Members of the public and respondents from the third sector were the most likely to say they would find the functionality to chart output very useful, 46 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, and third sector respondents were the most likely to give this type of functionality a high priority. The pattern is also reflected for in the results for mapping of output. Table 3: Usefulness of functionality to produce chart output by user group
* Third sector - Community Group / Voluntary Sector and Charities Chart 3: Usefulness of functionality to produce chart output by user group 
Table 4: Priority of charting by user group
* Third sector - Community Group / Voluntary Sector and Charities Chart 4: Priority of charting by user group 
Table 5: Usefulness of functionality to produce maps of output by user group
* Third sector - Community Group / Voluntary Sector and Charities Chart 5: Usefulness of functionality to produce maps of output by user group 
Table 6: Priority to produce maps of output by user group
* Third sector - Community Group / Voluntary Sector and Charities Chart 6: Priority to produce maps of output by user group 
There is a clear desire from a significant section of the user community that responded to these questions to have the facility to chart and map Census data. However, it is similarly evident that users in general would not wish attention to such functionality to take precedence over other aspects of the output dissemination system development process. So the question becomes – is it important that we, the Census, develop a form of direct data visualisation integrated within the Census dissemination system, or is it better to provide a pipe into the data so that specialist 3rd parties can easily tap into the data source. This is an area that has seen rapid growth in the last decade both in terms of volume and range of applications available, and such growth will no doubt continue during and beyond the development programme of output from the 2011 Census. If you are a user who said you would like to see visualisation functionality, then you probably already have experience of using these tools and techniques from other existing online sources. If so, then let us know about your experience of using and interacting with such services. Let us know about some examples of best (and perhaps the worst) practice you have encountered, perhaps with some details about the specific features and functionality which are appealing and useful. Also consider if you would prefer that, rather than potentially developing its own system, priority is given by the Census instead to ensuring that access to an online data repository is as open and flexible as possible. This might better enable real-time access by 3rd parties who have a wider developer base and consequently wider choice of visualisation options, while at the same time allowing Census development resource to be applied other initiatives. Let us know what you think. See other posts similar to this one:
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Scotland’s Census Outputs Consultation Roadshows, created: 1270036133|%O ago, 0 response(s) Scotland’s Spring 2010 Census Consultation: Statistical Outputs, created: 1266486505|%O ago, 0 response(s) 2011 Output Consultation - Main Statistical Outputs, created: 1260870597|%O ago, 0 response(s) |
Online output questionnaire results VI: Data visualisation
