A Consumer’s Guide to Understanding Data - Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication - page 63

ExPLORING DATA TABLES

In some cases, you may encounter data products that are raw or summarized
data presented in tables. Even if you are not an experienced analyst, there is
much you can do to gain an appreciation for the structure and insights to be
found in the data. Rather than trying to absorb the full data table, start with
understanding rows, and then move on to summarizing columns, as shown
in Figure 4-14.

Rows Tell Stories
Each row in raw data represents an element—an individual, atomic thing from
the real world. It may be an event, like a customer transaction at a specific
location and time, or an advertisement of a specific size, position, and loca-
tion (refer to Figure 4-14). A row could represent a person, place, or object.

Read through rows

Student Name Facility Department Overall Score

Amelia Hughes St. Marys ICU 83.0

Annette Willis Centennial ICU 97.0

Arthur Zimmerman Centennial OR 77.0

Beverly Armstrong Centennial ER 84.0

Brandi Ballard Centennial Support Services 92.0

Cassandra Klein Centennial Support Services 82.0

Clark Larson St. Marys ER 78.0

Cory Boyd St. Marys OR 47.0

Summarize columns

Figure 4-14 Understanding how to use rows and columns

To begin to absorb the data, read across the table to understand what this
element is and how the columns describe it. A picture emerges of what the
data is about. Take your one row and compare it to others with the same