DS307BKK
From data to knowledge: interpretation, visualization, presentation
Faculty
Juan Galeano
Researcher at the Center for Demographic Studies (CED) in Barcelona, Spain
Course length
Duration
Total hours
Credits
Language
Course type
Fee for single course
Fee for degree students
Skills you’ll learn
Overview
In today's data-driven world, technology has made it easier than ever to generate and collect information from nearly every aspect of our personal, social, and professional lives. Interpreting this data empowers us to make informed decisions, uncover trends, generate ideas, and even challenge or validate our assumptions. This course will teach you effective data visualization techniques, helping you not only understand your findings but also communicate them clearly—whether in a research paper, a business presentation, or a website. Along the way, we'll develop a critical approach to data, learning to recognize its strengths and limitations.
Learning highlights
- Participants in this course will learn to select the most appropriate visual representation based on the specific questions they aim to address with data.
- They will gain insights into why certain types of visualizations are more effective in particular contexts.
- Additionally, students will become familiar with a range of tools for data exploration and presentation, including techniques for creating dynamic and interactive visualizations.
Course outline
15 classes
Presentation of the course
goals, assignments and evaluation.
Brief introduction to the history of data visualization.
Presentation of datasets for final assignment.
Exercise 1: Critic comment of the article “Graphics with a cause”.
Into the void
Data collection, processes , Types of variables, Dataset formats: width vs long, Where to get data?
Exercise 2: Building data infrastructures tidyverse (R) vs pandas (Python).
Types of graphs: pros and cons
Basic elements of a graph, Line Plots, Barplots
Barplots: Alluvial plots, Scatterplots, Box Plots, Polar plots
Exercise 3: Building some basic graphs using ggplot2 (plotnine in Python).
The Visual Mind: how visual perception works?
Main goals of data visualization
Data visualization vs Information design
Exercise 4: Critic comment of the article “Feminist Data Visualization”.
Daily sins of data visualization.
Matching data and graphs: Definition of datasets for final projects.
The data visualization toolbox for interactive visualizations.
Exercise 5: Building complex graphs using ggplot2 (plotnine in Python).
Let’s go Spatial I
Production of digital cartography and spatial analysis .
General manipulation of spatial objects in R.
Coordinate Reference Systems.
Choropleth maps.
Exercise 6: Choropleth maps in R.
Let’s go Spatial II
Production of digital cartography and spatial analysis.
Map tile providers.
Point maps, heatmaps and lines maps.
Exercise 7: Heat and lines maps in R.
Let’s go Spatial III
Production of digital cartography and spatial analysis .
Hexabin maps .
Bubble maps .
Cartograms.
Exercise 8: Hexabin and bubble maps in R.
Let’s go Spatial IV
Production of digital cartography and spatial analysis .
The Open Street maps library.
Working with raster objects, geocoding data.
Isochrone maps.
Exercise 9: Geocoding information.
Let’s go Spatial V
Production of digital cartography and spatial analysis.
Web-based maps: the leaflet library.
Exercise 10: Interactive web-based maps.
Preparation of final projects
You work on your own and I will be in the classroom mentoring, giving feedback and answering questions.
Definition of visualizations to produce for your final project.
Preparation of final projects
You work on your own and I will be in the classroom mentoring, giving feedback and answering questions.
Data Manipulation and production of the desired visualizations.
Preparation of final projects
You work on your own and I will be in the classroom mentoring, giving feedback and answering questions.
Production of the desired visualizations.
Preparation of final projects
You work on your own and I will be in the classroom mentoring, giving feedback and answering questions.
Preparation of the necessary slides for your presentation.
Presentation of final projects
We provide feedback to our colleagues.
Summary of the course.
Farewell aperitif!!!
Prerequisites
Basics of working with data (e.g. spreadsheet software, R, python pandas).
Basics of statistics (descriptive statistics: mean, median, variance, standard deviation, regression)
Basics of programming (preferably R or Python).
Methodology
Theoretical lectures
Learning-by-doing activities
Grading
Juan Galeano is a researcher at the Center for Demographic Studies (CED) in Barcelona, Spain, where he is currently responsible for Data Infrastructures within the Intergenerational Coresidence in Global Perspective: Dimensions of Change (CORESIDENCE) project, supported by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council. He is also the co-principal investigator of the project Bringing Social and Computational Sciences Together: Unravelling Household Composition and Change through the Implementation of the First World-Scale Multilevel Analysis, a collaborative initiative between CED and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC). Previously, Juan was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) in Geneva, Switzerland. He holds a PhD in Demography, and his research lies at the intersection of demography, human geography, and sociology. Juan is passionate about spatial data, digital cartography, and open-source technologies.
See full profileApply for this course
From data to knowledge: interpretation, visualization, presentation
by Juan Galeano
Total hours
45 Hours
Dates
Jan 13 - Jan 31, 2025
Fee for single course
€1500
Fee for degree students
€750
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FAQ
Will I receive a certificate after completion?
Yes. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate signed by the director of the program your course belonged to.
Do I need a visa?
This depends on your case. Please check with the Spanish or Thai consulate in your country of residence about visa requirements. We will do our part to provide you with the necessary documents, such as the Certificate of Enrollment.
Can I get a discount?
Yes. The easiest way to enroll in a course at a discounted price is to register for multiple courses. Registering for multiple courses will reduce the cost per individual course. Please ask the Admissions Office for more information about the other kinds of discounts we offer and what you can do to receive one.