Mona Chalabi's chart on Racial/Ethnic Categories in the U.S. Census drew me in because I have been researching the lack of data on people from multiple backgrounds in Canada and find it interesting how little data we have compared to the United States. I am aware of how tricky this data can be to quantify and thus understand why there is a lack of data. Still, the main point of the census is to count the population and allot resources such as housing, education, health care services and determine where government money goes and the programs they fund. When given a binary choice on the census, many citizens lose out because of the lack of data.
I find this data visualization quite paradoxical because it is both simple and complex. When looking at Chalabi's illustration, we can see she has labelled the x-axis as years and the y-axis by racial/ethnic categories using coloured folders to symbolize those categories. The more folders there are in a given year, the more racial/ethnic categories were found on the census. Speaking to the simplicity of this visualization, I prefer bar graphs because they are relatively straightforward to read, you can change data sets without affecting the others, and they don't feel too cluttered.
I would prefer this to be an interactive bar graph so that we could click through to more details in each category. While the visualization is straightforward in showing how racial/ethnic categories have changed on the census over the years, it fails to provide details about each ethnic category and time frame and might leave an unknown audience incognizant to the importance of how the census may categorize race/ethnicity. For example, I find it interesting that the Hispanic category was missing from 1960 to 1990, but I had to go out of my way to research why it wasn't there. Again, the complexity of tracking racial/ethnic data makes it difficult for us to navigate this issue, but I think there is a better way than what they've been doing.
While I think that at first glance, Chalabi's visualization does a good job at explaining how the categories changed over the years, it isn't as detailed as some of her other visualizations on the topic, such as her article WEB Du Bois: retracing his attempt to challenge racism with data in The Guardian. Given that it is an Instagram post, I understand that she was limited to an image with a short word count, but I would have liked to have seen a more in-depth article on her findings. Chalabi does link this visualization to an episode from her podcast Am I Normal? where she speaks to British Iraqi drag queen Amrou Al-Kadhi about navigating the contradictions of having multiple identities and what it means to not include more racial/ethnic categories on the census. Overall, I enjoyed Chalabi's creative take on data visualization.
Hi Kayla, great analysis! I like the topic you chose and the graph is very unique and interesting. I agree with you that a bar graph would definitely be more helpful. I like that you gave an explanation as to why you think bar graphs would be better. You pointed out what you think the graph does a good job at near the end, though I'm not finding anymore throughout the analysis so I would just like to see what other strengths you see in her graph. Thank you for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kayla! Your data charts look so interesting that I had to be curious to understand them. You clearly discuss the background of the chart before analyzing it. I agree with your point! My suggestion is to create a link to each "folder" in this chart to see the detailed information when the mouse touches it.
ReplyDeleteHey Kayla,
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis here. I liked your introduction on your rational for choosing this visualization. You also have great writing skills.
Tough to find a critique on your assignment! Maybe a couple more annotations on the image (very minor).
I think a bar graph would have worked better too. The folders are a bit confusing. Good job with your annotations of the image.
Hi Kayla!
ReplyDeleteGood analysis and I really like the visualisation that you chose because it is an interesting one. I also agree with Brett that your writing is excellent, I was able to follow what you were describing very easily.
If I had any critique, it would be that a bar graph may not be as good a replacement as it seems as first glance. I think there would be a couple issues with clearly setting one up that won't be obvious until its attempted.
Otherwise, really excellent analysis!
Hi Kayla the visualization was done very well, very clear writing. The only issue I have with the diagram is that for such serious information rather than using the typical bar graph or line graph they decided to use visuals. Other than that, your analysis was perfect!
ReplyDeleteTabasom
Hey Kayla! You're writing is fantastic as always, and your use of hyperlinks is great. The graph was a little confusing so I'd maybe make it a bit clearer but other than that, fantastic work!
ReplyDeleteMaggie