Data Visualization:
Performing accurate visualization of data is very critical to market research
where both numerical and categorical data can be visualized, which helps
increase the impact of insights and also helps in reducing the risk of analysis
Data visualization is categorized into the following categories:
Numerical Data
Categorical Data
Numerical Data:
Numerical data is also known as Quantitative data. Numerical data is any data
where data generally represents amount such as height, weight, age of a person,
etc. Numerical data visualization is easiest way to visualize data. It is generally
used for helping others to digest large data sets and raw numbers in a way that
makes it easier to interpret into action. Numerical data is categorized into two
categories:
Continuous Data –
It can be narrowed or categorized (Example: Height measurements).
Discrete Data –
This type of data is not “continuous” (Example: Number of cars or children’s a
household has).
The type of visualization techniques that are used to represent numerical data
visualization is Charts and Numerical Values. Examples are Pie Charts, Bar
Charts, Averages, Scorecards, etc.
Categorical Data :
Categorical data is also known as Qualitative data. Categorical data is any data
where data generally represents groups. It simply consists of categorical
variables that are used to represent characteristics such as a person’s ranking, a
person’s gender, etc. Categorical data visualization is all about depicting key
themes, establishing connections, and lending context. Categorical data is
classified into three categories :
Binary Data –
In this, classification is based on positioning (Example: Agrees or Disagrees).
Nominal Data –
In this, classification is based on attributes (Example: Male or Female).
Ordinal Data –
In this, classification is based on ordering of information (Example: Timeline or
processes).
The type of visualization techniques that are used to represent categorical data is
Graphics, Diagrams, and Flowcharts. Examples are Word clouds, Sentiment
Mapping, Venn Diagram, etc.
Why Use Data Visualization?
1. To make easier in understand and remember.
2. To discover unknown facts, outliers, and trends.
3. To visualize relationships and patterns quickly.
4. To ask a better question and make better decisions.
5. To competitive analyze.
6. To improve insights.
Examples of Data Visualization in Data Science
Here are some popular data visualization examples.
1. Weather reports: Maps and other plot types are commonly used
in weather reports.
2. Internet websites: Social media analytics websites such as Social
Blade and Google Analytics use data visualization techniques to
analyze and compare the performance of websites.
3. Astronomy: NASA uses advanced data visualization techniques in
its reports and presentations.
4. Geography
5. Gaming industry
Why is Data Visualization Important?
Let’s take an example. Suppose you compile visualization data of the
company’s profits from 2013 to 2023 and create a line chart. It would be very
easy to see the line going constantly up with a drop in just 2018. So you can
observe in a second that the company has had continuous profits in all the years
except a loss in 2018.
It would not be that easy to get this information so fast from a data table. This is
just one demonstration of the usefulness of data visualization. Let’s see some
more reasons why visualization of data is so important.
1. Data Visualization Discovers the Trends in Data
The most important thing that data visualization does is discover the trends in
data. After all, it is much easier to observe data trends when all the data is laid
out in front of you in a visual form as compared to data in a table. For example,
the screenshot below on visualization on Tableau demonstrates the sum of sales
made by each customer in descending order. However, the color red denotes
loss while grey denotes profits. So it is very easy to observe from this
visualization that even though some customers may have huge sales, they are
still at a loss. This would be very difficult to observe from a table.
