The Secret Language of Maps: How to Tell Visual Stories with Data by Carissa Carter & Stanford d.school

Author:Carissa Carter & Stanford d.school [Carter, Carissa & Stanford d.school]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781984858009
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Published: 2022-04-19T00:00:00+00:00

Quantitative data is a pile of numbers. Qualitative data is a pile of observations. Mixed data is some of both. All of these require a human to make meaning out of them. Some people think that quantitative data is better. But “better” isn’t the right word. With today’s computers, quantitative data is easier to work with at scale. It’s easier and faster to process. But qualitative data is a treasure trove of nuance and possibility.

Consider a simple sentence: “I’d love to do that.” Now think of all the different ways you might put emphasis on the different words in that sentence and alter its meaning entirely. The way you say the words matters. Are you genuine? Sarcastic? Do you point at something unexpected while emphasizing that in order to convey a surprise? Are you speaking to someone who is from your culture, someone who understands the tiny twitch in your face as you emphasize love? It’s hard for us, human to human, to make sense of each other, but this is what qualitative data is—that pile of observations. It’s messy, hard for people to process, and even harder for machines to process—they don’t have your sense of humor. So qualitative data is trickier to work with, but potentially richer in what might be mined out of it. Some of the most interesting data sets are mixed—number values combined with motivations. No matter the type of data, it needs a human to make meaning out of it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.