dataset-digest

There are many ways to visualize data these days, as well as an increasing number of places from which to draw datasets. But it’s not always easy to figure out the shortest path to production for media use, especially on deadline. Here, we’ll focus on just one use case, the classic time-series graph — the display of the change in a variable, or variables, typically over hours, days, months or years.

A wealth of data is released every week in the United States by organizations of all kinds, from federal, state and local agencies to companies, educational institutions and other nonprofits.

Many large federal datasets contain highly granular statistics that can serve as a launching point for local stories — for example, the location of alternative-fuel stations (graphic at left), campus crimes or payments to doctors by pharmaceutical and medical device companies.