Incorporating and Describing Data<\/h2>\n
After choosing and creating visuals for your data, you should include remarks about how the data relates to your paper. Never insert a table without referencing it in the text<\/strong> either by name or table number. When writing about data, be sure to go beyond describing it; instead, your writing should incorporate an analysis and discussion of how the data fits into the purpose of your paper (2). Academic Writing for Graduate Students<\/em>\u00a0states the following elements should be included in your data commentary:<\/p>\n When writing about data, consider including statements that address these three points to enhance your discussion.<\/p>\n For both figures and tables, it is essential to include a title and include the figure\/table number. For example, \u201cFigure 3: Competing Academic Services by Program Type\u201d or \u201cTable 5: Percent of Program Participants by Number of Credits, 2010-2014.\u201d You should refer to the data in the main text by explaining a key point, then referencing the chart. For example, you might say \u201cFor both programs, most students sought out a professor or TA for additional academic assistance (see Figure 3<\/strong>).\u201d With both types of data presentation, you should include the date\/year whenever appropriate, particularly if you\u2019re comparing trends across time periods.<\/p>\n When creating a chart, you should clearly label all axes, including the unit type if you have numerical values, and include a legend if you are comparing multiple groups (3). Make sure that the horizontal and vertical scales for the figure accurately reflect the results (3).<\/p>\n Unless it is the standard operating style in your organization, you strongly avoid using 3-D charts as they do not convey a professional tone and can be distracting to interpret. You should also avoid unnecessary detail. For example, unless there are minute differences between values that you wish to illustrate, it may not be necessary to show decimal places. Furthermore, if you are using millions (or higher) on either axis, you can just format to show smaller unites. For example, instead of using 10,000,000 and 20,000,000, you may use 10 and 20 while using \u201cmillions\u201d as the units.<\/p>\n Below is an example of a simple figure:<\/p>\n Figure 3<\/strong>: Use of Academic Services by Tutoring and Writing Program Participants Type<\/p>\n When creating a table, you should also clearly label the rows and columns, including the unit type if you have numerical values (3). If appropriate, you should also provide the column\/row totals (3). If have many columns of data, you might consider keeping the gridlines on or utilizing row shading to ensure that the reader can follow the trends.<\/p>\n Below is an example of a simple table:<\/p>\n Table 5:<\/strong> Percent of Program Participants Per Year by Number of Credits, 2010-2014<\/p>\n For more information, visit the following resources:<\/p>\n Integrating data and research into your writing can strengthen your argument in public health. You must clearly present and communicate how the data fits into your paper. This section can help you discern the best way to communicate your data and engage readers in your research. The first step to communicating data is deciding how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7514,"featured_media":0,"parent":52569,"menu_order":13,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"bu-publication":[],"profile_tax":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70280"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7514"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70280"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70565,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70280\/revisions\/70565"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/52569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=70280"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=70280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Using Figures and Tables<\/h2>\n
Creating Figures<\/h3>\n
![\"Chart](\"\/sph\/files\/2015\/07\/Chart-example-v2-636x463.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nCreating Tables<\/h3>\n
![\"Simple](\"\/sph\/files\/2015\/07\/Simple-Table-example-636x210.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAdditional Resources<\/h3>\n
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References<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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