Data is critical, but data has not always lead to success. If data is not communicated clearly, the results can be disastrous. Design lets us communicate data so it can be understood. Dr. Rankin believes that "when we're fluent in visualizing our ideas, we can communicate them across global boundaries, across spoken language barriers, and…

In this study, we used a paper-pencil questionnaire to investigate whether teachers, administrators, and parents differed in their preferences and accuracy when interpreting visual data displays for decision making. For the data analysis, we used nonparametric tests due to violations of distributional assumptions for using parametric tests. We…

Describes a worksheet used by the author to help business communication students get the most out of a set of quantitative data. Describes how the worksheet walks students through a sequence of four activities (orientation, generalization, explanation, and exploration) that help them present and interpret visual data. Discusses benefits to…