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Journalism: Data Journalism

This guide will help Journalism students find and evaluate key resources needed to successfully complete their assessments.

What is data visualisation?

 

Journalists often use data to communicate a story to their audience. 

It’s a ‘visual’ means of taking complex data from a spreadsheet or database and making it easy to understand by using visualisations or infographic designs.

Cover art
Cover art
Cover art

Types of data visualisations

 

Different types of visualisations. (Image courtesy of Michelle Borkin, Harvard SEAS.)

Different types of Data Visualisations. (Image: Michelle Borkin, Harvard SEAS)

Data visualisations come in all forms and sizes, and depending on your audience and how creative you want to get, there are many options. Below are links to websites covering the various types of data visualisations.

Creating graphs with Excel 

 

Below are guides on creating graphs using data in Excel. 

Before beginning your visualisation, consider who your intended audience is. This will guide your design process, whereby you’ll only include visual elements which align to that audience.

Good v Bad Visualisations

Good

Bad