Data and Statistics

Summarize Your Data Findings 

After you have processed, reviewed and analysed your data your next step is to communicate your findings accurately and effectively. This is a vital part as others may be making decisions based on your findings at a later point in time. Keep in mind that you may have different types of audiences who may require different data summaries as well.

There are a many ways to summarise your data findings:  Reports and articles typically use a mix of text, numbers, tables and charts to provide details of the context and findings, while presentations, infographics and briefs are less comprehensive and detailed, typically focusing on communicating a small number of points glimpsed from your review or analysis of the data.

Data visualizations have become particularly popular in recent years and provides a graphical, easy-to-understand representation of data and information. As a result, many new user-friendly visualization tools are now available for non-statisticians that make it easy to create charts, infographics, and other visual summaries.

Read the Government of Canada's overview of data visualization.

Data Visualization Tools

There are many tools available that can help you create data summaries, reports and visualizations.  A few of the popular ones are:

• Excel
• Tableau
• Google Data Studio

In addition, check the ITS MyApps page for any additional statistical analysis software that may be available to you in your program.

If you have access to an analytics platform such as Oracle Analytics Server or Microsoft Business Intelligence you will find that they have sophisticated reporting and visualization capabilities built in.

If you are already familiar with statistical programming languages you can also use JavaScript, Python, SAS, and R to build custom visualizations and reports.

Not sure what charts to use in your data analysis and visualization?
Try the Chart Chooser by Kagan Quiballo!