STATISTICAL POSTER/WEB PAGE 

DEFINITION AND PURPOSE

There are many excellent references on the basics of developing a good data-based graphic. This article describes a few basic guidelines for constructing a statistical poster/web page or web page.  (A web page will give you more points than a poster.)

A statistical poster/web page  is a display containing two or more related graphics that summarize a set of data, that look at the data from different points of view, and that answer some specific questions about the data.

Tukey (Statistical Science, 1990, Vol 5, No.3, 327-339) states that "Much of what we want to know about the world is naturally expressed as phenomena, as potentially interesting things that can be described in nonnumerical words." We collect data to describe and answer questions about phenomena. We present data to communicate our ideas to others. The purpose of a statistical poster/web page, then, is to visually tell a story, from the data, about some phenomena ,revealing to the viewer the conclusions that can be drawn. A poster/web page has one major disadvantage, however. Because there is no narrator to tell the story, nor an accompanying report to discuss the data, the poster/web page must be able to stand alone; it should not have to be explained. For this reason, special care must be taken to present ideas clearly. Not only must the viewers understand the individual graphics, but they must also understand the relationships among the graphics, and how the graphics address the question(s) being studied.

DATA-BASED PROBLEM SOLVING

Data are everywhere. Find a topic of interest to you/your team.  Generate or collect data, about you, about your school, about your neighborhoods--about interesting phenomena in your world.   Formulating and solving problems based on data should be the primary goals. The poster/web page, then, becomes a communications tool, a tool for the graphical presentation of data.  In the upper grades, the poster/web page/web page can be used not only for data presentation, but also as a graphical problem-solving tool. The poster/web page should demonstrate that the scientific method of solving a problem has been used. Keep in mind the following questions:

·         Was there a carefully focused question or questions?

·         Were appropriate data collected?

·         Were the data analyzed intelligently?

·         Were the correct conclusions drawn?

BASIC GUIDELINES

While constructing a poster/web page, it is important to keep in mind that the central idea of the study should be the most prominent feature of the poster/web page. To bring the main idea into focus, questions such as the following should be asked. "What is the purpose for displaying this information?" "What comparisons should be made?" "Which trends should be shown?" Questions should be asked until the central idea of the study becomes clear. This then, becomes the focal point of the poster/web page. The poster/web page must reveal what the data have to say. It must allow the viewer to see the data, that is, to see the variation in the data, the structure of the data, the important patterns in the data(or lack of a pattern), the data points that do not fit the pattern, and the conclusions that can be drawn from the data. Further, each graphic on the poster/web page should convey new information about the data--a pattern or structure, for example, that cannot be seen in the other graphics.

The poster/web page title should be informative to reduce the need for additional explanatory text. For example, the title can indicate the questions addressed by the graphics or can even convey the major conclusion to be drawn from the data.

Each graphic's legend should be positioned so that there is no question which graphic and which legends go together. Further, each graphic and its legend should stand alone. If the graphics need to be viewed in a certain sequence, however, then the viewer's eyes must be guided in the right sequence.

Try to eliminate trivial and extraneous information, linework, or lettering. In particular, redundancy in titles and legends should be omitted. Only explanations that are needed to make the conclusions clear and obvious should be included. Data tables should not be shown on the poster/web page; reading off numbers is not the point of the display.

Choose a few harmonious colors that are easily visible. The key to using colors effectively is restraint; the colors should not distract the viewer, but should enhance recognition of the structure of the data and of the conclusions.

Tufte (The Visual Display of Quantative Information, 1983, 13) stated that graphics may"...reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure." In a similar sense, a poster/web page may do the same. At a distance, perhaps only a broad overview of the poster/web page and the data is possible; main titles are visible and overall outlines of the data as revealed by the graphics can be seen. On a closer inspection, however, aspects such as individual data labels and legends can be seen more clearly.

A FINAL NOTE

The NCTM Standards for Curriculum and Evaluation in School Mathematics presents the vision that problem solving is a main goal of mathematics instruction at all levels, and calls for student involvement in statistical activities at all grade levels. The Standards indicates that statistical thinking should start in the primary grades with the creation of student data from class activities. In upper grades, the emphasis is on collecting, organizing, summarizing, and interpreting data from other school disciplines such as the physical or the social sciences, as well as outside interests of the students. Graphical displays are exceptionally powerful tools for data presentation and for data analysis.

REFERENCES ON GRAPHICS

Cleveland. W.S.(1985) The Elements of Graphing Data. Monterey. CA: Wadsworth Advanced Books.

Curcio. F.R. (1989), Developing Graph Comprehension. Elementary and Middle School Activities. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Landwehr, J.M. and Watkins, A.E. (1987). Exploring Data, Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour Publications.

Tufte, E.R. (1983). The Visiual Display of Quantiative Information, Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.

Wainer, H. (May 1984). "How to Display Data Badly," The American Statistician, 38 no. 38 no. 2: 137-147.

Wainer, H. and Thissen, D. (Winter, 1988). "Plotting in the Modern World: Statistics Packages and Good Graphics," Chance, 1 no. 1: 10-20.

Rules:

·         Posters should measure between 18 and 24 inches high and 24 and 30 inches wide. Any weight of paper is permitted. Any layers of paper on poster/web pages must be affixed securely.

·         Web Pages can be one or more web pages but must be linked appropriately.  These should be handed in on a 3.5” diskette or CD.

·         Poster/web pages must be the original design and creation of the entrants themselves. Computer graphics may be used.

·         Subject matter is the choice of the participant(s) or their classmates. An example of the original data, brief descriptions of method of collection and purpose of the experiment must be taped to the back of the poster or turned in with the web page. (Cite references for published data.)

·         You may work individually or in teams.   The maximum number of students per team is two.

Evaluation:

Teachers and statisticians, whose decisions are final, will judge the poster/web pages for:

·         Overall impact of the display for eye-catching appeal and visual attractiveness; for its ability to draw in the viewer to investigate the individual graphs (More than one graph is required.)

·         Clarity of the message's demonstration of important relationships and patterns, obvious conclusions, and ability to stand alone, even without the explanatory paragraph on the back.

·         Appropriateness of the graphics for the data.

·         Creativity.