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Congressional Budget Office Telling Visual Stories About Data Presentation for the: Seminar on Independent Budget Analysis & Transparency A Global Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices Community Meeting Peter Fontaine Assistant Director for Budget Analysis June 2014

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Page 1: Telling Visual Stories About Data - cbo.gov · Telling Visual Stories About Data Presentation for the: Seminar on Independent Budget Analysis & Transparency A Global Network of Parliamentary

Congressional Budget Office

Telling Visual Stories About Data

Presentation for the: Seminar on Independent Budget Analysis & Transparency A Global Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices Community Meeting

Peter Fontaine Assistant Director for Budget Analysis June 2014

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Know Your Audience

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Members of Congress and Staff

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explanatory exploratory

static

interactive

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How CBO Communicates

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Reports

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Policy options, spreadsheet

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Chartbooks

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Snapshots

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Presentations

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Before

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After

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Infographics

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Use Best Practices

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Show the Data

Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011

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Show the Data

Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011

0-axis thicker than data line

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Show the Data

Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011

Tick marks probably unnecessary

0-axis thicker than data line

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Show the Data

Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011

Label and %-sign are redundant 0-axis thicker

than data line

Tick marks probably unnecessary

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Show the Data

Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011

Abbreviations make comprehension difficult

0-axis thicker than data line

Tick marks probably unnecessary

Label and %-sign are redundant

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Show the Data

Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011

Data points are outside the axis bounds

0-axis thicker than data line

Tick marks probably unnecessary

Label and %-sign are redundant

Abbreviations make comprehension difficult

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Implied Impulse Response Functions for Different Caseloads(Percentage change in caseload)

-20

-10

0

10

20

0 1 2 3 4 5

Years

Adult Only

0 1 2 3 4 5

Years

No Cash

-20

-10

0

10

20

0 1 2 3 4 5

Years

Welfare Cash Assistance

0 1 2 3 4 5

Years

SSI Cash Assistance

Show the Data

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Gordon Hanson, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 2012

Reduce Clutter

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Reduce Clutter

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Integrate Text and Graphics

Social Security Advisory Board, Aspects of Disability Decision Making: Data and Materials, February 2012

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Integrate Text and Graphics

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Use Appropriate

Tools

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Excel

Stata

SAS

Open Office

R

Tableau

JavaScript

Google Charts

Standard Tools

Newer Tools

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If your tool doesn’t let you create the visualization you want, get a different tool.

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Do the figures in this report illustrate its main points?

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What should the reader learn from the figure?

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Is the figure understandable outside the confines of the report?

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The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures -Ben Shneiderman

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References

Slide

7. CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024, www.cbo.gov/publication/45010, February 2014

8-9. CBO, Social Security Policy Options, www.cbo.gov/publication/21547, July 2010

10. CBO, A Premium Support System for Medicare: Analysis of Illustrative Options, www.cbo.gov/publication/44581, September 2013

11. CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024, www.cbo.gov/publication/45010, February 2014

13. CBO, Rising Demand for Long-Term Services and Supports for Elderly People, www.cbo.gov/publication/44363, June 2013

14-15. CBO, The Distribution of Federal Spending and Taxes in 2006, www.cbo.gov/publication/44698, November 2013

17. CBO, Snapshot of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, www.cbo.gov/publication/44131, April 2013

18. CBO, Snapshot of Unemployment Benefits, www.cbo.gov/publication/44096, March 2013

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References, continued

Slide

20. CBO, Federal Health Care Spending: Why Is It Growing? What Could Be Done About It? www.cbo.gov/publication/44761 , September 2013

21. CBO, Federal Health Care Spending: Why Is It Growing? What Could Be Done About It? www.cbo.gov/publication/45144, February 2014

22. CBO, The Federal Budget: Outlook and Challenges, www.cbo.gov/publication/44378, June 2013

24-27. CBO, The U.S. Federal Budget: Infographic, www.cbo.gov/publication/42636, December 2011

28-32. CBO, Federal Means-Tested Programs and Tax Credits—Infographic, www.cbo.gov/publication/43935, February 2013

33. CBO, The Long-Term Budget Outlook: Infographic, www.cbo.gov/publication/43289, June 2012

35-45. Jonathan Schwabish, “An Economist’s Guide to Visualizing Data,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.28.1.209, Winter 2014