Communicating with Data

Chapter 2. Data

Data is the fundamental building block of everything in this book from here on out. The visualizations in the following chapters require a solid understanding of data and how to turn a question into a data-informed answer. In my role as a full-time data analytics trainer, I frequently meet people who have worked with data for a while but need to brush up on certain aspects. This chapter covers those aspects to ensure that you have what you need on your journey to becoming an effective communicator with data.

This chapter will help you form and refine those fundamental skills by building your awareness of the following:

• What we mean by data and some of its key features

• The sources of data and how it is created

• Where you will find data

• How to structure data sources to make them easier to use for analysis as well as communication

• How to identify the correct data for your questions

Working with data can be intimidating at first because of the large size of data sets, or inaccessible data storage solutions you might have to use, or pressure to represent data accurately to your audience. However, you’ll find that tasks become much easier once you’ve developed a set of fundamental skills with whichever technology you choose to work with. To answer your questions, you will need to sift through a vast amount of data from a plethora of sources. The core skills covered here will prepare you to work with data in your workplace, no matter the data’s source.

Knowing ...