Module overview
Referred to as the ‘the new oil’, the importance of data as a resource to modern society cannot be underestimated. Yet many individuals and organisations alike do not use data effectively, if at all. Effective use of ‘big data’, with its vast sizes and numerous formats that arrive at high velocity and vary in multiple dimensions, is especially challenging.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Visualisation is one of the quickest, yet most effective techniques, for understanding and gaining insights from data. Visualisation is particularly effective at uncovering complex relationships among hundreds, or even thousands, of factors to determine their relative importance. Sophisticated analyses can be performed quickly, even immediately, and results presented in ways that showcase patterns so that the data can be used to aid faster, more effective decision-making.
The purpose of this module is to equip you with the knowledge and skills for analysing and interpreting big data using visualisation techniques. The module will explore some of the theories that explain why visualisation is one of the most effective communication tools, the guiding principles of effective visualisation; and the nature of big data, its unique challenges and the way visualisation analytics must adapt to make sense of big data. You will learn, by examining numerous real-world datasets from a wide range of disciplines, how to create engaging, informative, compelling visualisations that reveal the core story hidden within a dataset, no matter how large and complex.
Part art, part science and quite unlike other data analytics techniques, data visualisation is less reliant on subject specific skills, such as statistical computer programming. Thus, this module will suit anyone who has an interest in making the most effective use of data, enjoys being creative, and is reasonably comfortable with using a computer.
Linked modules
Pre-requisites: MANG1047 or MANG1019 and MANG1040.