Tools that Help Compare Numbers

Comparing Numbers

Comparing numbers is one of the most vital components of data visualizations. Numerical data is factual evidence of statistics which supports and reinforces an author's claim. Visualizations that compare numbers are a fantastic means of communicating the data that we collect when performing experiments. When reading the collected data in a table, it may be difficult to comprehend or recall. Visualizations aid in understanding the trends and patterns that emerge from this data. Comparing numbers not only provides a visual aid for numerical data, but also puts it in evaluation with other data sets. The following tools are extremely valuable when constructing visualizations that compare numbers:

Excel

Excel is the quintessential tool for creating visualizations from the collected data entered into the program. Its versatility allows users to choose from a variety of graphs. The figure above is a slope graph that I created with a given set of data. It reflects the change in price of different grocery departments from an old site to a new site. Excel gave me the ability to edit the format to my preferences. For instance, I colored the negative slope and the greatest increasing slope because they are my two most important pieces of data. It is clear that one reflects the biggest price drop while the other shows the greatest price increase. Consequently, the remaining data is not as important, but still comparable, so I changed the color of that data to gray. Excel allows me to easily compare two numbers of a real-world scenario that affects everyday life. This visualization is one of the many functions for comparing two numbers in Excel.

Canva

             

Canva is one of my favorite tools to use when comparing two numbers. Its numerous tools for enhancing visuals serve to create engaging data visualizations. The figure shows several graphs created in Canva, which compares different series of data. It is evident that the different colors on the trends represent a different set of data. This makes the numbers easy to recall and compare with others. Similar to Excel, Canva gives users the ability to format their graphs to suit their personal likings. While Excel is more efficient when dealing with raw data, Canva is a program that ensures your graphs are both appealing and memorable to an audience.

Datawrapper

   

Datawrapper is another valuable tool in the data visualization realm. While Excel is one of the most notable programs for holding data, some users may find it too complicated to use. Canva is also a great program, but users may consider it to be more of a graphic design program rather than an efficient data visualization tool. However, Datawrapper ties both of these programs together and serves as a compromise of the two. Not only does Datawrapper allow you to transform your spreadsheets into clean, visual data, but it also allows you to then export it into Canva. From there, users can edit the visualizations to their liking while maintaining the validity of the graph. The figure above is a prime example of Datawrapper's ability to compare two numbers, displaying the values of rural versus urban population. 

Conclusion

Overall, the aforementioned programs are ideal for comparing numbers of a data set. They each have abilities that enable users to accurate, yet visually appealing data visualizations. Often, collecting data is the first step in the path to displaying our data to an audience. Our inherent ability to easily comprehend images allows for us to thoroughly analyze data visualizations. In turn, we can easily recall the data presented to us. Ultimately, using these tools will certainly benefit users who want to transform their raw data into memorable visualizations.