36-613 · Mini 1 · Aug 24–Oct 9

Data Visualization

Statistical visualization with R, ggplot2, and Quarto—using NOAA for shared practice and workforce compensation for the final client report.

This week’s graphics Weekly calendar Syllabus Course outline Homework Logistics Resources

Meetings: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30–10:50 a.m., in Baker Hall 140A. Opening week: Monday, August 24 meets remotely at the scheduled time; Wednesday, August 26 is asynchronous, with a recorded lecture posted on Canvas.

Week 2 materials: Annotated slides for Lectures 2 and 3 are now posted on Canvas. Homework 1 solutions will be released there on Wednesday, September 2 at 11:59 p.m., 24 hours after the deadline.

Graphics critiques in the wildThree to five fresh examples each week, with credited sources and one close-reading cue apiece. Open this week’s set →

Lectures + homework

Weekly calendar

Homework opens here at 12:00 a.m. each Sunday and is due the following Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. All times are Eastern.

Week 1 · Aug 24–28

Foundations and categorical data

  • Before class: Complete Lab 00 · RStudio Setup to install R, RStudio, and Quarto and confirm that you can render a document.
  • Mon Aug 24 · remote: Why visualize? Tidy data and grammar of graphics. Slides · Source
  • Wed Aug 26 · asynchronous recorded lecture: One-variable categorical displays. The video will be posted on Canvas. Slides · Source
  • HW1 · opens Sun Aug 23 at 12:00 a.m.; due Tue Sep 1 at 11:59 p.m.: categorical displays + graph critique. Files unlock Sun Aug 23.

Week 2 · Aug 31–Sep 4

Categories to distributions

  • Mon Aug 31: Two categorical variables and one quantitative variable. Slides · Source
  • Tue Sep 1 at 11:59 p.m.: HW1 due. Files unlock Sun Aug 23.
  • Wed Sep 2: Quantitative distributions. Slides · Source
  • HW2 · opens Sun Aug 30 at 12:00 a.m.; due Tue Sep 8 at 11:59 p.m.: quantitative distributions. Files unlock Sun Aug 30.

Week 3 · Sep 7–11

Two quantitative variables

  • Mon Sep 7: No class — Labor Day.
  • Tue Sep 8 at 11:59 p.m.: HW2 due. Files unlock Sun Aug 30.
  • Wed Sep 9: Trends, residuals, and overplotting. Slides · Source
  • Fri Sep 11 at 11:59 p.m.: Critique 1 due on Piazza.
  • HW3 · opens Sun Sep 6 at 12:00 a.m.; due Tue Sep 15 at 11:59 p.m.: regression + 2D displays. Files unlock Sun Sep 6.

Week 4 · Sep 14–18

High-dimensional data

  • Mon Sep 14: Seeing many variables. Slides · Source
  • Tue Sep 15 at 11:59 p.m.: HW3 due. Files unlock Sun Sep 6.
  • Wed Sep 16: Distance, MDS, and PCA. Slides · Source
  • HW4 · opens Sun Sep 13 at 12:00 a.m.; due Tue Sep 22 at 11:59 p.m.: high dimensions + PCA. Files unlock Sun Sep 13.

Week 5 · Sep 21–25

Embeddings, time, and space

  • Mon Sep 21: Nonlinear embeddings and trends. Slides · Source
  • Tue Sep 22 at 11:59 p.m.: HW4 due. Files unlock Sun Sep 13.
  • Wed Sep 23: Time-series structure and spatial foundations. Slides · Source

Week 6 · Sep 28–Oct 2

Maps, design, and text

Week 7 · Oct 5–9

Animation and TBD

  • Mon Oct 5: Animation and interaction. Slides · Source · NOAA Shiny demo
  • Wed Oct 7: Lecture TBD.
  • Wed Oct 7 at 11:59 p.m.: Critique 2 due on Piazza.
  • Fri Oct 9 at 11:59 p.m.: Final project due. Submit one self-contained HTML report through the Gradescope assignment linked from Canvas. Brief · 36-613 Data Vis Rubric

Quick access

Homework

Each homework offers both its editable QMD source and a ready-to-read PDF after its scheduled release.

Where things live

Course logistics

The course uses four tools with distinct jobs. Canvas is the official home for announcements and summary grades; the public teaching website is the source for course materials.

Start here: Complete Lab 00 · RStudio Setup before the first class. Install R, RStudio, and Quarto, then confirm that you can render a document and read the course data.

Course website

Syllabus, calendar, Lab 00, unannotated slides, homework files, final-project instructions and rubric, and public datasets.

Canvas

Official announcements and summary grades, recordings, occasional checkpoints, annotated slides after the related homework is due, solutions, and links to Piazza and each Gradescope assignment. Check Canvas regularly.

Gradescope

Open each assignment through its Canvas link. Submit each homework as a PDF and the final project as one self-contained HTML file. Detailed grading feedback and regrade requests also live here.

Piazza

Course and assignment questions, plus two class-visible visualization critiques. Critique 1 is due Fri Sep 11; Critique 2 is due Wed Oct 7. Access Piazza through Canvas.

Final client project

Global Data & AI Workforce Compensation Analytics

Advise an executive-search steering committee using a global salary archive for data, AI, and machine-learning roles. The report must culminate in a defensible target employer and recruiting playbook—not merely a collection of compensation charts.

Client decision

  • Select and justify a target employer
  • Prioritize roles, experience tiers, and recruiting lanes
  • State what the evidence cannot support

Evidence package

  • Six to ten focused graphics
  • One self-contained HTML file
  • Embedded data audit, cleaning, uncertainty, and reproducibility details

Two separate rubrics: The 36-613 Data Vis Rubric grades the HTML client report. The Professional Skills Rubric is a separate working draft for the companion presentation and is not yet final.

View project brief36-613 Data Vis RubricDownload data

Data and examples

Start with the evidence

NOAA supports shared classroom practice. The separate compensation archive supports the final recruiting recommendation.

Graphics critiques in the wild

Three to five instructor-selected graphics each week, credited and linked to their original publications, with one close-reading cue apiece. Paywalled work is link-only.

See this week’s set

Lab 00 · RStudio Setup

Install R, RStudio, and Quarto, and confirm you can render a document and read the course data. About 20 minutes, not graded. Complete this before the first class.

Open Lab 00

NOAA data tour

Worked exploration of event types, damage, magnitude, maps, seasonality, and HURDAT2 context.

Explore Storm Events

NOAA Shiny dashboard

A live, commented example with linked filters, a state map, seasonal context, and a month animation.

Open dashboard page · Read the app

Data dictionary

Definitions for the cleaned 2024 Storm Events teaching extract.

Open dictionary

Final project requirements

The client, questions, evidence expectations, deliverables, and recommended report structure.

Open requirements