Mon 8 Feb 2010
A Different Look at Spending
Posted by David under Provost Report 2010 at 12:00 pm
Another ridiculous pie chart (achive here) — this time in duplicate!
1) Pie charts are among the worst methods for transmitting numerical information. Bar charts are much better.
2) You have the data for each year for the last 10 years. Show it! The more data that you show people, the more informed they will become.
3) Without the numbers for specific categories, it is hard to make sense of things. Has spending on the library/museum increased or decreased (in percentage terms) in the last decade? Looking at the pie chart, we can’t tell!
If I were a Trustee, I would be quite critical of this chart. Doing it right takes no more time than doing it wrong.
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16 Responses to “A Different Look at Spending”
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Dick Swart says:
“If I were a trustee” …
I feel these five words can be added to this list:
PHRASES FROM HELL – THE 10 MOST LIKELY TO WORRY PEOPLE
1 We need to talk
2 The boss wants to see you now
3 I’ve had a bit of an accident
4 Can I borrow your credit card?
5 There’s a leak (upstairs/in the bathroom etc)
6 Did you remember my birthday?
7 I’ve got something to tell you
8 You know that (tenner/car/lawnmower etc) that you lent me?
9 You haven’t forgotten we’re going out tonight?
10 Now I know it looks bad but…
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2008/06/26/new-list-reveals-the-most-dreaded-words-in-english-language-86908-20621224/
Any other suggestions from your own lives?
Jr. Mom says:
Oh yeah, I can add to that list.
1. Something smells funny…
2. I don’t want to offend you, but…
3. You look tired…
4. Bring a plunger and a towel, quick! (yelled)
5. This shouldn’t hurt …(always a lie)
6. This is going to hurt…(the last thing I remember hearing before a horse size needle of cortisone was injected into my shoulder socket)
Ronit says:
That is a laughably bad pie chart.
Dick Swart says:
addendum:
Dave’s judgement of the awful pie chart is right-on.
Even worse, I am picturing that chart projected on a wall and some guy with a pointer and a monotone voice spending 30 minutes on it. “As you can clearly see, the reduction of 0.04% makes this a substantial increase in overall to segment 16a (K) after-tax write offs from R&D, particularly when viewed year-over-year as I can show you on this next slide…”.
Aidan says:
Jesus, that’s a terrible chart.
rory says:
I was going to try to defend pie charts (laypeople like them! Pies are delicious!) but that one is beyond the pale. I can’t even try.
Jr. Mom says:
Well, I was distracted with Dick’s
hijack…sideline @1, but now that I look, the pie chart is almost as funny.(Dick, I liked your theme, though, and it would be fun to repost it when a laugh is needed.)
Parent '12 says:
A few points in no particular order:
Phrases from Hell- any more?
The pie charts remind me of some of the 401k plan allocations that I’ve seen.
Dave said he’s partial to bar graphs. I just clicked on the site meter in the right column.. What was going on this past Friday, Feb 5? No statistics needed to see a significant difference between that day and the others.
Ronit says:
@Parent ‘12: huge spike in searches for “brooks perlin”
Diana says:
Stacked bar graphs are my favorite. For each year, you put a bar, the total height of which is the total amount spent, and then within the bar you have little different-colored chunks for the different categories of expenditures that year.
It is easy to look across and see if, say, the red chunk has gotten bigger or smaller over the years.
Since they want to group certain expenditures (“instruction”) you could make each of those a different shade of green, and “student support” three different shades of blue, and so on.
Why is “instruction” a subcategory of “instruction”? Is the green supposed to be professors’ salaries?
Parent '12 says:
@Ronit:
Any idea(s) why he was of interest last Friday? Or, is that more of a question for DK?
Ronit says:
@Parent ‘12: cursory google news search reveals that Couric gave an interview to Harper’s Bazaar (not to be confused with Harper’s!) where she talked about her legs, her boyfriend, and how she dislikes the term ‘cougar’
kthomas says:
In the sort-term, doing it right almost always takes more time than doing it wrong. In the medium- and long-terms, the consequences of doing it wrong are almost always far greater than doing it right, and magnified by the laws of exponential growth.
Parent '12 says:
@Ronit:
Thanks for doing that search for me. Must have been a lot of disappointment.
Has EphBlog ever considered doing a style feature to increase visibility. Trying to stay on topic….. perhaps that’s what’s missing from the pie chart– style or a better color wheel.
Dick Swart says:
@Ronit:
And what a cover that will be …
Jr. Mom says:
You guys are awful hard on Katie Couric. (Meow)
Dick, I like that cover. Very provocative. Almost like Brooks is um…contemplating what her foot smells like…