Visualize This, 2nd Edition

Ch.2Choosing Tools to Visualize Data

In the previous chapter, you learned about asking questions to guide analyses and communicate with data. You could do this by hand with pencil and paper, but my guess is that you'd rather use a computer for some of the work.

Luckily, you have lots of options. Some are point-and-click. Others require programming. Some tools weren't designed specifically for data visualization but are still useful. Some tools are small and are good at helping with visualization tasks. This chapter covers these options to help you decide which tool or set of tools is best for you.

MIXED TOOLBOX

Many people stick with a single tool for all their visualization needs. It helps to streamline your workflow, and you don't have to spend time struggling with a new tool. Instead, you can spend your time analyzing and visualizing data.

Others move with shifts in technology, so they learn how to use new tools before their current toolset falls out of favor. After all, many of the visualization tools listed in the first edition of this book are no longer available or don't work with the current Web.

I go with a hybrid approach. I have a small set of tools that I use to complete most of my work, and I learn new tools when I want to make something that stretches beyond the scope of my current toolset. The approach helps you get things done but lets you work closer to the boundaries of your imagination than the limits of a certain software package.

For the tools I am already ...