Comments on: Presenting Data on a Map http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/ Sat, 30 Apr 2011 08:44:13 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: DSA Insights » Blog Archive » Support Analytics - Best of 2009 Q1 http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/comment-page-1/#comment-3200 DSA Insights » Blog Archive » Support Analytics - Best of 2009 Q1 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:32:00 +0000 http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/#comment-3200 [...] Presenting Data on a Map [...] [...] Presenting Data on a Map [...]

]]> By: derek http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/comment-page-1/#comment-3066 derek Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:52:19 +0000 http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/#comment-3066 But are scattered boxes with leader lines the best way to present the data and the map? Perhaps it would have been better as a table, and an adjacent map to be the geographical key? And why not sort and group the countries in the table? Fourteen countries could be lumped in four groups of three or four (4=roughly the square root of 14), with the lumping designed to prompt the same questions you asked about Poland and its neighbours. (See <a href="http://i-ocean.blogspot.com/2009/01/sorting-and-grouping.html" rel="nofollow">my article</a> on sorting and grouping and why I think grouping boosts the power of sorting :-) It's an oddly bitty list. Why Spain but not Portugal, France but not the Benelux countries? But are scattered boxes with leader lines the best way to present the data and the map? Perhaps it would have been better as a table, and an adjacent map to be the geographical key?

And why not sort and group the countries in the table? Fourteen countries could be lumped in four groups of three or four (4=roughly the square root of 14), with the lumping designed to prompt the same questions you asked about Poland and its neighbours.

(See my article on sorting and grouping and why I think grouping boosts the power of sorting :-)

It’s an oddly bitty list. Why Spain but not Portugal, France but not the Benelux countries?

]]> By: Tony http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/comment-page-1/#comment-3065 Tony Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:18:21 +0000 http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/#comment-3065 @Jon - Two very good points. My first reaction was to present the data is a better format to allow an easier cross-country comparison. However, I think there is no right answer because *it depends* on the goal of the visualization. I think a bar chart is probably the right answer to compare various countries, but the proximity comparison is much easier with a map. Ideally, the map accompanied by a bar chart would allow for both comparisons. But that would take up a lot more space. Re: Poland - A drill in to see a multi-year trend would be nice. Thanks Jon! @Jon – Two very good points. My first reaction was to present the data is a better format to allow an easier cross-country comparison. However, I think there is no right answer because *it depends* on the goal of the visualization.

I think a bar chart is probably the right answer to compare various countries, but the proximity comparison is much easier with a map. Ideally, the map accompanied by a bar chart would allow for both comparisons. But that would take up a lot more space.

Re: Poland – A drill in to see a multi-year trend would be nice.

Thanks Jon!

]]> By: Jon Peltier http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/comment-page-1/#comment-3064 Jon Peltier Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:06:04 +0000 http://supportanalytics.com/blog/2009/03/presenting-data-on-a-map/#comment-3064 Having the data linked to a map does provide some interesting geographical context. However, it makes comparisons between more than a pair of countries difficult. Re Poland: maybe their slump started a year earlier, so auto sales had already tanked. Having the data linked to a map does provide some interesting geographical context. However, it makes comparisons between more than a pair of countries difficult.

Re Poland: maybe their slump started a year earlier, so auto sales had already tanked.

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