Data Collection and Analysis Plan

This project asks you to locate (or collect) a set of data, related to a topic that interests you, and/or that is relevant to your area of study. “Data” can be understood as pieces of information that, when taken individually, give us limited insight; however, when collected in a “set,” give us an idea of large-scale patterns, trends, or problems.
The goals of this project are as follows: 1) to create appropriate visuals from numeric data; 2) to gain a better understanding of document design and visualizations; 3) to design a visually-oriented messaged based on a specific purpose and audience; and 4) to summarize numerical data to support a specific argument/purpose for a specific audience.
Data visualizations bring a number of benefits to many professional documents, particularly in situations where data must be made easily understandable and digestible in support of a particular argument or purpose. Some benefits of data visualization are as follows:
Though they have become extremely easy to make, people in the workplace still tend to be impressed by the extra effort and thoughtful presentation implicit in making a visualization.
Data visualizations also help to make the work of digesting and interpreting data more efficient by displaying trends or illustrating the significance of specific information without poring over page after page of numbers.
Because of this efficiency, visual elements are also better at communicating certain ideas more quickly than words or tabular data. Something that may take many sentences to communicate, a sudden drop in the efficiency of a process, or a surge in sales among a certain demographic, are instantly recognizable as spikes or dips along the X axis of a line graph.
In this part of the project, you are asked to locate a data set and bring it (either in digital or hard copy form) to class on Wednesday, Sep. 19. By the end of that same day, you should upload a brief reflection on the data you have located or collected. You will compose this reflection during the class meeting.
Your reflection should respond to the following questions:
What does the data I have located or collected show? What are the broad patterns, trends, or problems that emerge from this data set?
What purpose would I like this data set to serve? What argument(s) might be supported by this data?
Who would be the audience for such an argument?
What kinds of data visualizations (charts, tables, graphs, maps, infographics, etc.) would be most useful in the design of my document, given the purpose and audience?
Some potential data sets can be accessed via the following sites. You will need to select a manageable set (i.e. not too large), and a set that supports a particular argument (e.g. about how a situation has changed over time, about the prevalence of an issue, etc.):
http://www.pewinternet.org/datasets/
Links to an external site.

Frontpage

Links to an external site.
https://www.healthdata.gov
Links to an external site.
https://nces.ed.gov
Links to an external site.

19 Free Public Data Sets for Your First Data Science Project

Links to an external site.
However, you should also feel free to locate or collect data from other sources.

Assignment Specifics
No longer than one page, single spaced
Devote one short paragraph to responding to each of the above questions
Upload the document to Canvas by 11:59PM Wednesday, Sep. 19
Worth 20 points (or 20% of the Project 3 final grade); grade determined by fulfillment of the project goals and specifics