Don t Tell Me - Show Me: Looking at information visualization in business databases

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Ami Fitzgerald
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1 Don t Tell Me - Show Me: Looking at information visualization in business databases Gretchen Nadasky Ellis Mount Scholarship Recipient Pratt Institute, MSLIS Report from Online Databases in Business LIS- 627, Pam Rollo. Spring Gretchen received her MSLIS from Pratt Institute in May, 2013 and was this year s recipient of the Alice G. Merchant Award for Business Librarianship Information visualization is the hot new knowledge tool partly due to the availability of open data and Big Data. Edward Tufte s 1990 book Envisioning Information is the must- read for the digital literati. Visualizations are being created to describe almost everything as the The New York Times illustrated in their year- end review. "2012: The Year in Graphics". Displaying data in graphical form is nothing new for business and investing. The candlestick chart was invented in the 1800 s and for at least the last decade Smart Money Magazine has produced the Map of the Market heat map depicting sector and stock performance. Map of the Market. Graphic. Smart Money Magazine On- line. April 26, 2013.

Merchant Award for Business Librarianship Information visualization is the hot new knowledge tool partly due to the availability of open data and Big Data.

2 Retrieved April 29, 2013 from< of- the- market/> It is surprising that business databases haven t been the innovators in presenting information in graphical form, but many of them are catching up. Database vendors are starting to use the tools of information visualization for discovery, information visualization and infographics. Ben Schneiderman, a computer scientist and practitioner of information visualization makes the point that the purpose of visualization is insight not pictures. In fact, using visualization for search is becoming more prevalent. Ebsco s Academic Search Premier offers a Visual Search feature to Gain a graphical perspective and interact with your search results. The interface presents search results in categories allowing users to narrow results by choosing from a range of nested subjects. Results can be organized in lists or in blocks. The ability to interact allows for the discovery of new points of inquiry. Visual Search Results for Information Visualization. Interface. Ebsco Academic Search Premier. Retrived from New York Public Library Databases, April 15, Search can also be presented in a visualization that provides context, like a map. The Berg Fashion Library Explore by Place access point, presents users with an entre into it s geographic fashion topics through a visualization of the map of the world. The images and attractive graphics may pique the interest of a casual user to explore the library further.

Database vendors are starting to use the tools of information visualization for discovery, information visualization and infographics.

3 Explore by Place Interface. Berg Fashion Library. Retrieved from New York Public Library Database. April 15, In most inquiries, context is the key to understanding. Data visualizations have long been used to make comparisons and give visual clues for conceptualizing quantitative differences between things. Hoover s Build a List feature allows users to choose criteria to break sectors into categories. The Company Search Results screen below shows the number of companies by revenue in the hotel sector. The graphic makes a point about overall market segmentation in an easily digestible donut chart. Company Search Results- Build a List. Graphic. Hoover s. Retrieved from

Hoover s Build a List feature allows users to choose criteria to break sectors into categories.

4 Euromonitor uses Infographics to present a large amount of data quickly and concisely. Infographics are generally used to visually present ideas and concepts. The Euromonitor Pet Care dashboard represents features of the Pet Care market globally. Researchers can get a quick sense for market size, growth and historical performance. The interface is also interactive to allow users to choose and compare different geographies. Pet Care Dashboard. (Graphic) Euromonitor. Retrieved from Mars Competitive Landscape. (Graphic) Euromonitor. Retrieved from

The Euromonitor Pet Care dashboard represents features of the Pet Care market globally.

5 In order to get the message of their data and analysis out to users some databases combine charts and infographics. IBIS World has a particularly attractive user interface that summarizes a large amount of data into bite- sized visualizations. In addition to raw data IBIS also offers analysis. It is important for researchers to make the distinction between data and analysis even if the interface doesn t. Industry at a Glance. Graphic. IBISWorld. Retrieved from The potential uses of information visualization are vast and people in every field are just beginning to explore the potential of the tool to inform, enlighten and inspire. Business databases will continue to expand their offerings leveraging the massive amount of aggregated data they control. Information professionals also have the opportunity to be creative and represent their ideas with information visualization resources.

It is important for researchers to make the distinction between data and analysis even if the interface doesn t. Industry at a Glance. Graphic. IBISWorld.

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