5 Data Visualization Tools: Every Data Scientist Should Know

 

What is Data Visualization?

Before understanding Data Visualization let us understand what does the term Data means and why it has so much relevance?

The term Data means any information which can help us to analyze and, take decisions. For example, the government has to roll out a scheme for people living below the poverty line. In that case, if the government does not have adequate data then it will not be able to predict how much allocation of funds is to be distributed area-wise. Therefore, data would be the information of people having income below the poverty line. That is why data becomes an important asset in any field.

Now, that the term data is clear let us try to understand what does data visualization means. Let’s continue with the same example. When the government is making the plan regarding the distribution of funds, and while tabulating the data, the officials start using graphs, pie charts to identify various states or cities where a population below the poverty line is more. Using such graphical representation helps in identifying the patterns more easily. To further define, Data visualization is a set of the practice of translating data into a graphical or visual representation. The goal of such a visual representation is to identify trends, patterns that can enable predictions. Not only does the visual representation makes the trends clear but it also enhances and removes unnecessary details about the data. Big files and numbers are not always easy to comprehend the process of visualization as this minimizes the effect.

Visualization is one of the steps in Data Science. The data undergoes various sets of transformations such as collection, processing, modeling, etc. The visualization process serves as a fundamental step to make conclusions. The whole process of Data visualization is itself a part of larger data presentation architecture also known as Data Processing Algorithm (DPA). DPA aims to identify, format, locate and deliver data in the most efficient way possible.

Who can be benefitted from Data Visualization?

Data Visualization can add value in almost all career domains. It can be used by schools showing examination results in a structured format. The scorecard can show the growth of a student or any other form can be represented from the previous record graphically.

Not only school but Data Visualization can assist in healthcare industries as well. A graphical representation of data could be obtained of patient’s health. It can help in identifying if there is any particular change in any of the micronutrients. Reading all the reports and history could be a time-consuming process. Visualization could be of great assistance as it can reduce the time of going back to all the reports.

Similarly, the financial industry can also be benefitted from the process of visualization. Data of existing customers could be explored or explained by this. The efficiency of decision-making can be improved using this process.

Data Visualization can be a boon in marketing analytics. Various reports and visuals are used to analyze the trends and patterns. Customer analysis, defect analysis, cost analysis, market research analysis, etc., can be made simpler by using the visual form.

Education can be made more interactive by using the data visualization technique. Users can visually engage with data, quizzes, etc., which can be made very interactive using the visualization. Moreover, the progress of the student during the entire term, completion of various courses, etc., can be traced using this. The visual representation can provide quick insights which can help the instructor also to guide the students better.

In politics, Visualization can help in seeing which area voted for which party in a particular geographical area. The graphical representation helps in understanding the trend better than numbers.

Importance of Data Visualization:

As we already know it is always easier to absorb visuals and graphics. Communication becomes very easy and quick using such visualization. Such a practice not only makes the task easy but also gives valuable insights for example the practice can help businesses identify factors affecting their customers, identifying areas that need improvisation.

So far we have already understood what is data visualization and how it can be of great use in various sectors. Some organizations consider visualization as unnecessary work. But if one looks at various researches it has been proved time and again that the human mind catches visual imagery faster than numbers or written words. Visualization thereby helps in making things evident more quickly. Not only that such graphical representation remains in the memory for a longer duration.

Another benefit of data visualization can be, an enhanced understanding regarding the next step that can help in further improvement in decision making in the organization. Visualization helps in engaging the audience better. The information also gets distributed thereby providing an opportunity to share insights with everyone on the team.

Visualization can eliminate the need for data scientists since the data becomes more understandable and accessible in graphical form. Moreover, the presented data helps in quickly finding insights, thereby resulting in increased speed.

Some examples of data visualization.

One of the most used techniques for Data visualization was the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which is used to tabulate the information in a table, pie chart, histogram, etc.

This technique of visualization has been one of the most common methods. However, some other techniques include Time series charts, Fever charts, Bullet graphs, Bubble clouds, Infographics, Heat maps, etc.

Some other popular techniques are as follows:

Line charts: One of the most commonly used techniques and display how variables change over a while.

Area charts: This method is slightly a variation of line charts; it can display multiple values in a time series or sequential data collected at consecutive periods.

Scatter plots: This showcases the relationship between two variables. In order, to display the relationship between two variables it employs x- and y-axis with dots to represent data points.

Treemaps: This shows hierarchical data in a nested pattern. Each category has rectangles in proportional percentage. Treemaps are used when multiple categories are present, and the aim is to compare the various categories.

Population pyramid: It employs a stacked bar graph to display the complex social insights regarding population. This can be best used when we are trying to display the distribution of a population.

Data Visualization tools and vendor:

Nowadays many businesses are using various tools related to data visualization to get ahead in the race. Some of the tools which almost every business can use are as follows:

1- Tableau

Tableau is an interactive data visualization software. It can be used for effective data analysis and data visualization in any organization. It functions using a drag and drop interface. It has various features like data scientists do not need to write custom code in this tool. Moreover, it can in real-time collaborate along with data mixing.

2- D3

D3 is an interactive Javascript library. This tool offers powerful Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) operation. Scientists can use SVG to visualize their data.

3- QlikView

This tool is similar to tableau but you need to pay before using it commercially. One of the best features of this tool is that it can integrate a wide range of data sources such as EC2, Impala, HP, Vertica, etc.

4- Microsoft Power BI:

Microsoft Power BI can be easily downloaded for free. Moreover, it can easily integrate Microsoft tools. One of the best parts about this tool is that even non-data scientists can easily create machine learning models.

5- Datawrapper

Datawrapper can be a boon for non-technical users and, it has one of the most user-friendly visualization platforms. Without knowing any technical skills, a person can do visualization on this platform.

Conclusion:

Data visualization can transform a lot concerning how our analytics work with data. The speed of decision-making increases once we implement such techniques. By looking at graphs visually one can get valuable insights. Visualization can help promote creative data exploration. Moreover, the aesthetic value in visualization help to represent a clear message. Visualization could assist almost all organizations. It can reduce the big numbers which can be represented in form of creative maps/graphs thereby giving out a clear message.

We hope this article was insightful and helped you to understand the concept of data visualization, its benefit, and its significance. The quality of data and its visualization is dependent on how you process the collected data to grow across the value chain. Thank you for showing interest in our blog and, if you have any questions related to Data Visualization, Augmented Analytics, Machine Learning. You can get in touch with our team to help you in resolving your queries, kindly send us an email at info@futureanalytica.com.