Data is a good thing? Yes, it is!

As you have noticed if you read my blog (Hello! ANYONE ONE OUT THERE?!?!?!) I believe you understand that each week my class is tasked a topic to write about. It has ranged from explaining what in the world is mobile journalism is, to showing a video of sequence shots. Every week is a little different to keep you, the reader, and me, the writer, on our collective toes.

I'm taking a guess when you saw the word "Data", in your mind you screamed, "BORING!!!" Let me assure you, I did, and have always done the same when it comes to looking at and analyzing data. There is only so much you can do until numbers become jumbled, and you get lost in the tables.

It can become repetitive, and tedious. It can be boring causing you to wake up hours later with drool on your keyboard, and papers stuck to your face.

That's what you think and I thought heading into this week's blog. I'm supposed to sit here and explain the good thing about endless amounts of tables? How can I show you the good things about data, when it feels like I am already behind the eight ball?

It was daunting, at first, and I wasn't sure how to handle the task. Something I remember from being a kid is, sometimes you need to take a step back and breathe. Remove any previous knowledge of a subject, and attack it head on. The results can surprise you.

For starters, data can be used in text. Think of an article that uses the phrase, "One in four people...." and you will think of a story you read (or heard). That's data. Usually, this can be defined as microdata, which is raw data that is not broken down.

An example of microdata can be found in this article from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-energy/russians-used-social-media-to-stir-divisions-on-u-s-energy-policy-lawmakers-idUSKCN1GD6E3

Quoting from the article: "The lawmakers’ report linked some 9,100 posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram between 2015 and 2017 to operatives including the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, a Russian propaganda arm known for its trolling on social media."

The 9,100 posts is a broad, raw, collection of data. It doesn't break down anything from the posts including: race, gender, location, etc. This is what microdata is.

When the data is collected and put into any sort of infographic, it becomes aggregate data. This is raw data is taken and combined to make varous graphs to help explain, or add to a story.

Sometimes, they are great. Sometimes, they are completely weird. But graphs are meant to be there for add or enhance your story. Rather than drag your story down with nothing but words, graphs can grab the attention of the reader, and boost the words that you write.

In closing, I thought data was just an endless list of numbers to explain something. Do not get me wrong, it still is. But, if you take the time to look through it, you will be able to pull the pieces you want and not get bogged down in numbers.

For your viewing pleasure, enjoy this breakdown of: "The 52 Best - And Weirdest - Charts We Made In 2016 by FiveThirtyEight.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-52-best-and-weirdest-charts-we-made-in-2016/