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INF4000 Data Visualisation

Coursework 2023-2024 FAQ

Last updated: 28 Nov 2023

Coursework brief: INF4000 Blackboard -> Assessment -> Coursework brief

Below is a set of frequently asked questions. If you have any questions, please check if they have been answered here before asking the teaching team. 062

1. In my assignment, can I develop a visualisation on another tool and discuss the visualisation in the report?................................................................................................... 2

2. Are we allowed to use any other software to enhance the charts in terms of appearance?........................................................................................................................... 2

3. Can I develop interactive visualisations for my assignment?.......................................2

4. Will I need to write about all the R libraries I have used?.............................................. 2

5. As we are using data from online sources, it may be noisy. Do we discuss this and what steps we have used to clean the data?.......................................................................2

6. We are creating the composite visualisations, which will be placed right in the beginning of the report. However, it would be easier to have elements from that visualisation (say one of the four plots) alongside the narrative. Is this Ok?................. 3

7. Can I provide a composite visualisation of say four charts in the beginning of the report, but use a fifth chart in the later sections?.............................................................. 3

8. Previously, I have worked in the industry where I had created several interesting visualisations. Can I discuss them?.................................................................................... 3

9. You provided a list of data sources in the coursework brief. What should we be looking for in the dataset?.................................................................................................... 3

10. What if the dataset I chose has already been analysed and visualised by other articles, and there are some similar aspects within our views, is it OK?.........................4

11. If we use only 1 dataset, does it affect our mark when compared to the people who use more than 1 datasets?....................................................................................................4

12. Do we have to find a larger dataset that includes multiple datasets and analyze and make a graph with them or we can select different smaller datasets that we think might related to our topic and then combine, analyze, and visualize them?...................4

13. Can we use R libraries that were not taught in the lab?.............................................. 4

14. I found dataset X and dataset Y from the approved sources. Can I combine the two datasets to create visualization?..........................................................................................4

15. Should the good literature sources in the knowledge building section be related to the question we are answering? The literature sources for other sections would be to do with the charts/ graphs we are creating, I assume........................................................4

1. In my assignment, can I develop a visualisation on another tool and discuss the visualisation in the report?

Short Answer: No - please use R to create your visualisations.

Longer Answer: One of the main reasons for asking you to use R is so that you can relate more directly to the grammar of graphics (GoG) in the theoretical frameworks section. While this is a generic concept, ggplot2 implements GoG very well and we’d like to see how you align your visualisations with GoG concepts.

2. Are we allowed to use any other software to enhance the charts in terms of appearance?

Answer: No. The charts presented as composite visualisations should only be completed by R. However, you can describe how you may improve the visualisations further in the Implications and Improvements section.

3. Can I develop interactive visualisations for my assignment?

Short Answer: It depends (avoid if you can)

Longer Answer: You can, but make sure the visualisation you show in your assignment (screenshot) is representative enough to communicate how the interactions would work. This is typically quite hard to do. Moreover, as a visualisation tool, R isn’t as easily interactive as some of the other options you come across in the wild (e.g. javascript, tableau etc.) so if you do choose to incorporate some interactivity, be careful of how you represent that in your report. Also, if you have to use up space (word count) to explain how the interactivity would work, be conscious that it might mean you would have less space to write about the most important aspects in your report.

4. Will I need to write about all the R libraries I have used?

Short Answer: Yes, you must mention the libraries (be careful of word count)

Longer Answer: It is important for readers to understand how you have developed your visualisations and that you have sufficient knowledge to implement what you have created. So, you must briefly describe how the visualisations were created but we don’t expect a 5 page documentation of the process. You should talk about this when you discuss ASSERT. If you feel you must provide some critical information, you can place this in an appendix section but be aware that these aren’t marked so if it is critical to the report, please make sure it is in the main body of the report. Appendices are meant for additional contextual information that may or may not be read by the marker. I don’t envisage this to be a report where you would need to provide an appendix.

5. As we are using data from online sources, it may be noisy. Do we discuss this and what steps we have used to clean the data?

Answer: Yes, you must describe the data (including caveats if there are) and mention the steps (be careful of word count). You should talk about this when you discuss ASSERT - see the previous point.

Quick point about the previous two questions - you are expected to talk about what you have done in each step of ASSERT. This is the best place where you can bring these discussions

6. We are creating the composite visualisations, which will be placed right in the beginning of the report. However, it would be easier to have elements from that visualisation (say one of the four plots) alongside the narrative. Is this Ok?

Answer: Yes, it’s fine to duplicate a part of the composite visualisation (e.g. one chart) in the narrative if it makes it easier for the reader to follow.

7. Can I provide a composite visualisation of say four charts in the beginning of the report, but use a fifth chart in the later sections?

Short Answer: Avoid this

Longer Answer: There’s nothing stopping you from adding a few other charts in the beginning. However, be conscious that too many charts or new charts in the later sections may distract your discussion. Just focus on the ones you have provided right in the beginning - this will help reduce unnecessary words and help you focus only on discussing the key aspects of your report. Remember - you have to be careful of how you use your word count - 3000 words isn’t much so be strategic about where you use up the words.

8. Previously, I have worked in the industry where I had created several interesting visualisations. Can I discuss them?

Short Answer: No

Longer Answer: I’d strongly recommend not to do this - this implies you have an unfair advantage of prior work where you may have had a lot more time to design, develop and perfect visualisations. Besides, the data most likely will not be in the list of data sources and will not be applicable for this assignment. Furthermore, we wouldn’t know the company, your colleagues or even how you have developed the visualisations and we wouldn’t be able to verify this. So, please do not do this.

9. You provided a list of data sources in the coursework brief. What should we be looking for in the dataset?

Answer: You can find datasets in the list of approved data sources, and you must provide references to the dataset (including links). The datasets should be readily available and easily accessible by following a link to the resource you have mentioned. Please provide a link to the dataset in your assignment document. You have to make sure the datasets are fully anonymised and do not contain any personally identifiable information. Please avoid datasets that require us to seek approvals for. Please also avoid any datasets that you have used (or will be using) in other coursework submissions, for example the datasets for INF6027.

10. What if the dataset I chose has already been analysed and visualised by other articles, and there are some similar aspects within our views, is it OK?

Answer: Analysing the dataset will be fine in general. You are expected to demonstrate a significant amount of new views in the report.

11. If we use only 1 dataset, does it affect our mark when compared to the people who use more than 1 datasets?

Answer: No. There is no criterion for the number of datasets you used. You should describe all the dataset(s) you used. Again, be careful of how you use your word count.

12. Do we have to find a larger dataset that includes multiple datasets and analyze and make a graph with them or we can select different smaller datasets that we think might related to our topic and then combine, analyze, and visualize them?

Answer: You can do it either way. You can explore the list of data sources. It is up to you to decide your topic and what to visualise.

13. Can we use R libraries that were not taught in the lab?

Answer: Yes, you can. But I suggest don’t over use them - the libraries we taught should provide enough options for you to create insightful visualisations.

14. I found dataset X and dataset Y from the approved sources. Can I combine the two datasets to create visualization?

Answer: Yes, you can combine the datasets you found - it's up to you to decide which datasets to combine. Remember to justify the merge and reference the sources of all datasets.

15. Should the good literature sources in the knowledge building section be related to the question we are answering? The literature sources for other sections would be to do with the charts/ graphs we are creating, I assume.

Answer: Yes, in the knowledge building section, you should reference the literature that are related to your topic and question. For the other sections, the literature should be relevant to the corresponding section, e.g., accessibility, visualisation choice. In all sections, your claims should be supported by literature.

If you have any new questions, please include them below. The teaching team will answer and move the questions to the section above.