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NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATION
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Information Visualization Resources Seminar
for K-12 Economics Educators Federal Reserve
Bank of New York August 23 and 25,
2006 Elizabeth S. Webbink, PhD NCEE. Vice
President. EconomicsAmerica
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Inspiration for Good Design

INFORMATION GRAPHICS Edward R Tufte is Professor
Emeritus at Yale University. His work has been
described as "a visual Strunk and White. The
Visual Display of Quantitative Information Envisi
oning Information Visual Explanations Images
and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative
Beautiful Evidence
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Data Presentation Principles
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• Use Handouts
• Be Clear, but not Simple
• Minimize Mapping
• Cross-Pollinate
• Compare and Contrast
• Normalize the data
• Maximize the DataInk Ratio Eliminate Chartjunk
• Use Multiples to reduce the new information to be
  filtered
• Combine Multiples with Multidimensional Elements
• Layer Information
• Build data structures that facilitate rapid
  assimilation and analysis of large amounts
  of information
• Standardize elements
• Integrate words and numbers
• DONT use graphs for few data points or highly
  localized comparisons
• DO enjoy the time savings and productivity
  improvements
• of better graphic design

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Olaus Magnus' Map of Scandinavia 1539

DATA CAN BE RICH, DENSE AND COMPLEX http//www.be
ll.lib.umn.edu/map/OLAUS/lgolaus.html
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Mapus Mundi

DATA CONVEYS MORE INFORMATION WHEN PRESENTED IN
CONTEXT with clearly marked boundaries http//www
.eaudrey.com/myth/Places/styles_of_old_maps.htm
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COMPLEXITY CAN BE MADE CLEAR MAPQUESTs view
of Nantucket is clear, but simple and
flat. Examples of richer, more densely packed
graphics abound in every port, (illustrated here
by a clear but information-rich map of Nantucket
Harbor) Also try Google Maps (select the hybrid
version) and look for your home or
school! http//www.google.com/maphp?hlentabwlq

With permission of Youngs Bicycle Shop, Steamboat
Wharf, Nantucket, MA 02554
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MINIMIZE MAPPING Trends in Developing
Countries, 1969 drew countries according to
the size of their GNP Later versions removed the
direct visual cue for size and forced the user to
map through the color legend to determine the
relative size of GDP WORLD BANK

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COLOR CAN FACILITATE RAPID ABSORPTION OF
INFORMATION Gradations in a monochromatic scheme
are readily understood as lower to higher values
of the indicator being displayed
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HOWEVER, COLOR CAN SLOW THE ABSORPTION OF
INFORMATION IF IT REQUIRES THE VIEWER TO MAP
INFORMATION THROUGH A LEGEND In this
illustration, a polychromatic scheme requires the
viewer to referor mapto the legend to determine
which colors represent higher or lower values.
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Toll payers contend with several payment options
keyed to colored signs. The sign over each
booth is (unnecessarily) paired with a smaller
number which the driver must match to numbers
painted on the approach lanes. This is
further complicated in the Northbound lanes where
-- numbers are painted on the road prior to a
curve and -- before the numbers are discernible

TOO MUCH MAPPING ONLY ADDS TO THE
CONFUSION Garden State Parkway Toll Booths
are models for unfriendly Graphic User Inter-face
(GUI) design!
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MINIMIZE MAPPING MAXIMIZE VISUAL CUES Place
descriptive information as close as possible to
the data it describes Color code scales
with the data series which use them here the
index and right hand scale are in red.
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MINIMIZE MAPPING (cont.) Common scales can
facilitate comparison of multiple datasets. The
three graphs on top show State data relative to
their U.S. average, However, the States cannot be
compared easily to each other. The three graphs
on the bottom were redrawn with the same scale so
that State data could be compared with each other
as well as the U.S. average.
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CROSS-POLLINATE TREE OF LIFE There are
examples of good design in many fields. This is
an example from BioInformatics, a field
integrating Biology and the Computer
Sciences Shown here is part of the Tree of Life.
David Hillis, Paul Lewis, and their
collaborators are working on new methodologies
for the analysis of extremely large data sets.
Reprinted with permission of David Hillis,
University of Texas, Austin, TX
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GOOD DESIGN HELPS VIEWERS COMPARE
CONTRAST Well-organized data presentations can
analyze as well as display information, e.g. to
compare two leeches, researchers arrayed the DNA
sequence -- vertically for the leech with the
blood coagulating property -- horizontally for
the leech without that property then marked on
the diagonal where the DNA matched. Breaks
along the diagonal marked the DNA segment that
determines coagulation valuable information for
medical science.
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NCEE Publications by Grade Subject Area
LAYOUT CAN HELP A USER RAPIDLY ABSORB LARGE
AMOUNTS OF INFROMATION A matrix of information
will provide a visual structure to the
information. In this case, NCEE publications are
arrayed according to grade level and subject
area. http//www.ncee.net/ea/public/ncee_poster.xl
s

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ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF VISUAL STRUCTURE FACILITATING
RAPID IDENTIFICATION LEGGS HOSIERY The
display organizes merchandise by - style - color
and - size
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SMALL MULTIPLES MAKE A BIG IMPRESSION BRO
NX ZOO Robins egg exhibit I In nature you
start with 100 robins eggs II about 74 eggs
become hatchlings III approximately 52
hatchlings grow to fledgling stage IV and
roughly 10 fledglings survive to be adult robins
-- and make more eggs Photography by Kate Webbink
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MULTIPLES OR REPEATED USE OF THE SAME STRUCTURE
FACILITATES COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF LARGE
AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION Spreadsheets can be
powerful data visualization and productivity
tools. Inspiration can be found in art museums
and many other places http//www.ibiblio.org/wm/pa
int/auth/mondrian/broadway.jpg

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OVERLAY DIFFERENT INFORMATION ON A COMMON
ELEMENT

REUSING THE BASIC ELEMENT TO DISPLAY NEW
INFORMATION
HERE THE BASIC MAP ELEMENT IS USED w/6 TYPES OF
INFORMATION
"HOMELAND SECURITY How Infotech can combat
homeland insecurity. FORTUNE MAGAZINE, Monday,
July 22, 2002
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MULTIPLES ALLOW THE VIEWER TO QUICKLY FOCUS ON
WHATS DIFFERENT Productivity improvements such
as more rapid assimilation of information can
mean greater output in the same amount of
time or less time to produce the same output
with increased time to enjoy a sunrise! Photog
raphy by Greg Webbink
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Energy Flow in the U.S. Economy

COMPARABILITY AND CAUSALITY CAN ALSO BE DISPLAYED
VISUALLY What goes into the U.S. Energy Supply
and how is it used? Source Energy Information
Agency http//www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/
sec1_3.pdfsearch222B22energy20flow22202B2
00522 See Also Energy Outlook
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Mind Map for Housing Prices

CAUSALITY INTERCONNEC-TIVITY COME TO LIFE IN
MIND MAPS (also referred to as Concept
Maps) SOURCE Budd, John W. 2004. Mind Maps as
Classroom Excercises, Journal of Economic
Education, (Winter) 35-46. http//www.indiana.ed
u/econed/pdffiles/winter04/Budd.pdfsearch222B
22mind20map22202Bbudd22
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Appendix A Economic Statistics for use in the
classroom How DO you use data in your
classes? How would you LIKE to use data in your
classes? What TYPES of data would you like to
have available?
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Federal Reserve Statistical Releases

THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS excellent sources of
data educational materials http//www.federalres
erve.gov/releases/h15/Current/ Board of Governors
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Federal Reserve
Bank of Boston Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas Federal Reserve Bank of
Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Federal
Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Federal Reserve
Bank of Richmond Federal Reserve Bank of San
Francisco Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
http//www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/Current
/
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FRED LOG ON!
The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank has a very
convenient, simple to use site for data
retrieval. Log on to http//research.stlouisfed.
org/useraccount/register/step1 Register for a
free account.  While you do not NEED to do this
to have access to the data, if you have an
account, you can store up to 25 sets, each with
25 series, to update and download whenever you
log on. You can log in or visit 
https//research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/ For
instance Scroll down to Categories Click on
U.S. Trade International Transactions Select
Balance on Current Account VIOLA! A chart with
options to download data, add to your data set,
etc.
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A CLOSEUP of FRED
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White House Economic Statistics

THE WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC STATISTICS BRIEFING
ROOM http//www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr/output.html
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THE WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC STATISTICS BRIEFING
ROOM CLOSEUP
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OECD Economic Outlook

OECD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK This edition of the OECD
Economic Outlook analyses the major trends that
will mark the years 2006 and 2007. OECD Economic
Outlook No. 79, May 2006 http//www.oecd.org/docu
ment/61/0,2340,en_2649_201185_2483901_1_1_1_1,00.h
tml
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Briefing.com

BRIEFING.COM http//www.briefing.com/Investor/Pub
lic/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm
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Briefing.com -- sample

BRIEFING.COM http//www.briefing.com/Investor/Publ
ic/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm
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Energy Information

ENERGY INFORMATION http//www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo
/world.html http//www2.nsta.org/energy/find/prime
r/index.html http//www.understanding-energy.com/
http//www.classroom-energy.com/teachers/energy_to
ur/pg1.html ENERGY DEMAND GROWTH
2003-2030 (an interactive chart) http//www.tmccli
ent.com/exxonmobil/map/
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NCEEs EconEdLink

THERE ARE ABUNDANT DATA RESOURCES ON THE WEB Find
additional links on EconEdLink http//www.econedli
nk.org/ Try EconEdinks Online Compound
Interest Calculator http//www.econedlink.org/inte
ractives/interest.html
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Why is it important to think in databases?

Helps deal with tremendous growth in
information Forces formal specification of
structure, e.g., variables by which we filter
gender, country, age, etc. Facilitates
recognition of patterns IF combined with
appropriate visualization techniques Enables
productivity enhancements both in the workplace
and the learning place People get paid more for
doing work faster/better, i.e., with improved
productivity
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Appendix B Overview of Excel Pivot Tables
The following pages give a quick overview of the
use of Excels Pivot Tables in handling and
displaying large data sets. If you find the
visual presentation of information helpful, you
might enjoy the computer training books from the
Teach Yourself Visually series.
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Data sets are readily available from many
sources over the internet

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but may need reformatting to increase their
usefulness as databases

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Define your database range

EXCEL Define a Range Select/Highlight your data
range Select Insert / Name / Define / db / OK
xxx
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Create a Pivot Table

EXCEL Construct a Pivot Table Select Data /
Pivot Table / MSOffice Excel list / Next Range
db Next
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EXCEL Define a Range Select New worksheet /
Layout / Drag Field Names to the positions
where you want to place them in your Pivot
Table. There are four choices Rows, Columns,
Pages, and Data Select OK / New worksheet /
Finish
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EXCEL You can now reorganize your display to
meet your needs e.g., Country by Year or Year
by Country By dragging the field names to a
different location
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Select one or all Page items

EXCEL You can select all or one PAGE
field Select Real GDP per Capita
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Select ROW/COLUMN items

EXCEL You can select and deselect ROW and COLUMN
fields Select Canada Japan United Kingdom United
States
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Pivots (continued)

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Pivots (continued)

EXCEL Right click inside your table and select
PivotChart
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EXCEL You can now reorganize your display to
meet your needs
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EXCEL Select other Chart Types and
Options Right click inside the chart and make
your selections
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For more information on Pivot Tables Thomson
Learning Course Guide
EXCEL Microsoft Office Excel 2003Illustrated
ADVANCED Help users master computer skills
quickly and easily with this colorful,
highly-visual Illustrated Course Guide for Excel
2003. Lessons are presented in an easy-to-follow
2-page spread that introduces step-by-step
instructions on the left page and large
screenshots and illustrations on the right. This
signature, streamlined approach allows continuing
education students learn quickly, while also
serving as an excellent reference
tool http//www.course.com/catalog/product.cfm?is
bn0-619-05774-2courseguidey

Additional EXCEL guides are available from
Thomson at http//www.course.com/catalog/subcateg
ory.cfm?categorySpreadsheets