Summary and Setup

This is a lesson introducing the basics of data visualization in the form of charts and graphs.

The lesson materials are geared toward an undergraduate audience.

Learners need the following prerequisite skills and knowledge:

  • Understand the definition of “data”
  • Have previously seen a chart or graph
  • Have some exposure to tabular data
  • Have attempted to create a chart or graph using a spreadsheet application
  • Download and save data and images to a local computer or personal account

Introduction

This lesson introduces data visualization by focusing on the basic components of a chart and on the decisions you need to make in order to create and refine a chart. You will learn to craft messages about data and communicate those messages in charts. The principles applied to charts in this lesson can be applied to more complex data visualizations, but these are beyond the scope of this lesson.

Data Set

In this lesson we will use a dataset about large North American canids: wolves, coyotes, and foxes1. Public policy and scientific decisions have drastically changed these populations over the past century. The presence or absence of these animals near population centers, livestock, and nature preserves stirs public debate in the present day. You will practice communicating scientific information about large North American canids in messages and charts that the public can understand.

Download the data and unzip it to your Desktop.

Software Setup

This lesson uses Google Sheets as the software tool for generating charts from tabular data. This tool has some important advantages:

  • The software is freely available online.
  • The software works similarly regardless of operating system.
  • The software uses a graphical interface, which can be more approachable for new users.

For this lesson, you will need a free Google account to use Google Sheets and save your work. You will also need an up-to-date web browser.

  1. Newsome, Thomas M.; Ripple, William J. (2015). Data from: A continental scale trophic cascade from wolves through coyotes to foxes [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.s0d20.↩︎