Question 1

What does the term "viz" refer to?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 2

What is a focused chart?

Accepted Answer

A focused chart is designed to highlight or emphasize one specific aspect of a topic, providing clarity and detail on that particular element.

Question 3

What does the term "well organized chart" mean?

Accepted Answer

A well-organized chart means that its content is consistent with a take-home point, ensuring that the information presented is clear and supports the main message or conclusion intended to be conveyed.

Question 4

According to the Cleveland McGill (1984) study, people best assess values in charts in which of the following ascending orders?

Accepted Answer

The Cleveland and McGill (1984) study found that people are best at assessing quantitative information from charts when it is presented in the order of position along a common scale (lines), then position on identical but nonaligned scales (dots), followed by length (direction), angle, area, volume, and finally shading. This order reflects the accuracy and speed with which people can interpret these graphical elements.

Question 5

What does "cognitive load" mean in the context of interpreting a chart or visualization?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive load refers to the amount of mental effort required to process information, in this case, the effort needed to interpret data presented in a chart or visualization.

Question 6

A line chart shows average rainfall per month for 10 countries in Europe. The X-axis shows 12 months of the year 2020, and the Y-axis shows average rainfall per month. Each country is shown with its own line with a unique marker for the 12 data points. The data value to three decimal places is shown above each marker. How would you rate the cognitive load of this chart?

Accepted Answer

The cognitive load of this chart is considered high due to the presence of multiple lines representing different countries, the inclusion of data points for each month, and the precision of data values to three decimal places, all of which require significant mental effort to interpret and compare.

Question 7

What is a gestalt reaction?

Accepted Answer

A gestalt reaction refers to an instant and subconscious reaction, often in the context of perceiving or interpreting something as a whole rather than through its individual parts. This term is rooted in Gestalt psychology, which emphasizes understanding the mind and behaviors by looking at the human mind and behavior as a whole.

Question 8

What is the gestalt principle of connection in the context of charts?

Accepted Answer

The gestalt principle of connection, specifically in the context of charts, suggests that elements (such as data points) that are visually connected by lines are perceived as being more related or belonging together than elements that are not connected. This principle helps in understanding how individuals group visual elements in graphical representations, such as in line graphs where the connection between points helps to convey a trend or relationship.

Question 9

Which of the primary gestalt principles refer to the reader mentally filling in an absent connection or a gap?

Accepted Answer

The principle of continuity and closure involves the mind's tendency to continue shapes beyond their ending points and to fill in gaps in a visual image, respectively, which directly relates to mentally filling in absent connections or gaps.

Question 10

A bar chart shows the gross annual revenue, by year, of a Telecommunications company. Horizontal bars are shown for each of the four regions the company operates in, for the years 2019 and 2020. Year is shown on the X-axis of the chart. Bars of each region is given a separate color. Which gestalt principle helps the reader in interpreting this bar chart?

Accepted Answer

The principle of similarity helps readers interpret the bar chart by using different colors for each region, making it easier to distinguish and compare the gross annual revenue across regions and years.

Question 11

The title of a chart states the main take-home point of a particular trend shown in the chart. Where would this title be the most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Titles that state the main take-home point of a trend are most appropriate for newspaper articles, where the goal is often to communicate the key findings or implications of data in a straightforward and accessible manner to a broad audience. This approach helps readers quickly grasp the significance of the information presented.

Question 12

What is the difference between a legend and a text label?

Accepted Answer

Legend identifies unlabeled series in the chart body, while text label gives a text description of an object.

Question 13

A well-designed chart will state the topic and context of the data shown, give the categories and/or measurement units of all variables, and, which other principal characteristic? Choose from the following.

Accepted Answer

A well-designed chart should enable the reader to easily discern the patterns in data, making it clear and understandable.

Question 14

A pie chart shows the frequency count of customers of a store for the year, by two age intervals. One age interval contains 65% of the data. The other age interval is not labeled in the chart. What could be the primary purpose of this exhibit?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A pie chart shows the frequency count...

Question 15

What is an icon array? Choose the best answer.

Accepted Answer

An icon array is a graphical representation used in statistics and data visualization where a specific image or icon represents a fixed number of cases, and these icons are repeated in a grid-like pattern to visually convey the proportion or frequency of occurrences within a dataset.

Question 16

Which type of chart(s) are best suited for exhibiting "parts-of-a-whole" of a categorical variable?

Accepted Answer

Pie charts and stacked bar charts are specifically designed to show how different categories contribute to a whole.

Question 17

For variables with more than two categories, pie charts are appropriate when all categories are of equal size, or, under which other situation?

Accepted Answer

The answer of For variables with more than two categories,...

Question 18

How should stacks of a stacked bar chart be organized to reduce cognitive load?

Accepted Answer

Organizing stacks thematically or empirically helps viewers understand the data more intuitively by grouping related categories together, reducing cognitive load.

Question 19

Bar charts are generally perceived by readers to be a comparison of which items?

Accepted Answer

Bar charts are used to compare the values of different categories of a variable.

Question 20

Under what circumstance is a lollipop chart generally used?

Accepted Answer

A lollipop chart is typically used when the independent variable has many categories, as it effectively displays the data in a way that is easier to interpret compared to a bar chart, especially when dealing with a large number of categories.

Quiz 7: Working With Charts and Visualizations