Data Commentary

• Importance of data commentary

• Purpose of data commentary
• Structure of data commentary
• Qualifying claims
• Using qualifying words judiciously
• Visual design of data presentation
 Data Commentary
Data commentary is the type of written
explanation that accompanies a visual display.

Typically, data commentary will -

• Present research results
• Interpret the results
• Discuss significance and implications
 Data Commentary
Why provide data commentary?

If you place a table, chart, graph, illustration or

any visual representation of your hard work in
your document without providing an
explanation and interpretation of that visual,
you take the risk that
NO ONE IS GOING TO LOOK AT YOUR DATA
 Data Commentary
• Data commentaries are opportunities for you
to position yourself as a researcher.
• Therefore, in your commentaries, do not just
repeat in words what the data shows in
nonverbal form.

Do not DESCRIBE,
COMMENT
 Data Commentary

Purposes of data commentary:

• Highlight the results

• Assess standard theory, common beliefs,
or general practice in light of the given
data
• Compare and evaluate different data sets
 Data Commentary
Purposes of data commentary:

• Assess the reliability of the data in terms

of the methodology that produced it
• Discuss the implications of the data
 Data Commentary
Structure of data commentary
• location elements and /or summary
statements (Figure 1 illustrates . . . )
• highlighting statements (generalizations
drawn from the data display)
• discussions of implications, problems,
exceptions, conclusion
 Data Commentary
Highlighting Statements
• The central sections of data
commentaries
• Generalizations drawn from details of
the data display
• Need good judgment
• They are an opportunity to show your
intelligence.
 Data Commentary
In particular, highlighting statements are
an opportunity for you to demonstrate
• that you can spot trends or regularities
in the data,
• that you can separate more important
findings from less important ones, and
• that you can make claims of
appropriate strength.
 Data Commentary
Therefore, do NOT

• Simply repeat all the details in words,

• Attempt to cover all the information, or
• Claim more than is reasonable or
defensible
 Data Commentary
According to our results, impulse buying is on
the rise. Further, our survey data suggest that
buying goods to improve one’s self-image is
probably a motivation that plays some role in
most buying behavior, but it might be
particularly important when people make
unplanned or “spur of the moment” purchases.
These unplanned purchases may well be
regretted later and can lead to financial
difficulty.
 Data Commentary
Currently, satellite launches cost
approximately $10,000 for each pound lifted
into space. However, this may soon change as
a result of microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) devices, which could greatly reduce
the size, weight, power requirements,
complexity, and, eventually, the costs of space
systems.
 Data Commentary
For example, because of MEMS
miniaturization it may be possible to
construct a 2 pound satellite that is highly
resistant to radiation and vibration and
therefore more reliable than a traditional
satellite. Preliminary tests of MEMS
subjected to accelerations over 20,000
times gravitational acceleration have
shown promising results.
 Data Commentary
Qualifying or Moderating a claim
Qualifiers and intensifiers are words or phrases
that are added to another word to modify its
meaning, either by limiting it
(He was somewhat busy) or
by enhancing it
(The dog was very cute).
 Data Commentary

Strong Claim:

The use of seat belts prevents physical

injuries in car accidents.
 Data Commentary
Add qualifiers to modify the claim:
prevents reduces (weaker verb)
reduces may reduce (adds probability)
+ in some circumstances (weakens the
generalization)
+ certain types of injuries (weakens the
generalization)
+ according to simulation studies (adds distance)
 Data Commentary
Strong:
The use of seat belts prevents physical injuries in
car accidents.

Weak:
According to simulation studies, the use of seat
belts may reduce certain types of injuries in some
circumstances.
 Data Commentary
• Qualifiers give your readers clues to how
confident you feel about the information you
are presenting.
• Qualifiers are in important feature of
academic writing.
• They indicate whether you think claims are
certain, likely, unlikely, or just false.
 Data Commentary
HOWEVER,
• excessive use of qualifiers can make
you sound unsure of your facts;
• it can also make your writing too
informal.
 Data Commentary
Use qualifiers
• to be confidently uncertain
• when you have not fully interpreted
your data
• when you are discussing the
limitations of your research.
Data Commentary

Visual Design
Data Commentary:
Visual Design
Data Commentary:
Visual Design
Visual Design
 Visual Design
12

10

8
Hydrogen acceptor

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Drug Number
Visual Design
Visual Design
 Visual Design

Shaving the Bridegroom

On the day that the bride-to-be was to go to her new husband's house, the groom and
his friends would have a party at which the groom would be shaved for the wedding.
For this ceremony, the groom would use the shaving-apron, towel, and shaving-bowl
that were in the bundle presented as a gift by the prospective bride.
The shaving-apron was a shaped like a long rectangle with a circular section cut out so
that it could be placed around the neck. Together with the towel it formed a set and
was made sometimes from linen but mostly from silk decorated with scattered
embroidery. Other accouterments used on this day were a shaving-bowl, a basin and
ewer set, and a razor.
The groom did not shave himself but was instead painstakingly shaved by a barber
specially-hired for the occasion. After the introduction of coffee in the 16th century, it
became the habit of Ottoman barbers to shave their customers in a corner of a coffee
house. Because coffee were constantly at risk of being shut down however, some
barbers preferred to ply their trade in the open air.
Not until the reign of Abdulhamid II did barbershops along the lines of the European
model make an appearance in İstanbul and for a long time, itinerant barbers
continued to serve their clientele outdoors, seated up against a wall or on a street-
corner. Barbers are also known to have supplemented their income by practicing
dentistry, performing circumcisions, and provided beeding by lancing.
"Bell, based in Los Angeles, makes and distributes
electronic, computer and building products."
• nsubj(makes-8, Bell-1)
• nsubj(distributes-10, Bell-1)
• partmod(Bell-1, based-3)
• nn(Angeles-6, Los-5)
• prep-in(based-3, Angeles-6)
• conj-and(makes-8, distributes-10)
• amod(products-16, electronic-11)
• conj-and(electronic-11, computer-13)
• amod(products-16, computer-13)
• conj-and(electronic-11, building-15)
• amod(products-16, building-15)
• dobj(makes-8, products-16)
Dataset creation

• Identify syntactic dependencies that are

challenging to state of the art parsers.

• Construct short entailment sentences that

paraphrase those dependencies.

• Identify the subset of the entailments with high

inter-annotator agreement.
 Non-bimaterial length vs. NETD
&
Bimaterial near vs. away from anchor
600 180
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NETD [mK] @12bit

deflection[nm/K]
400 120 NETD (mK)
@ 12 bit
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300 deflection
80 (nm/K)
200 60
40
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0 0
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300 80 180
non-bimaterial length [um]
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NETD [mK] @12bit

deflection[nm/K]
200 120

100
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0 0
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 FIGURE 1
Model > Harmonic Response > Solution >
Frequency Response
STRESS SCALE FOR ADULTS
STRESS EVENT VALUE
DEATH OF SPOUSE 100
DIVORCE 60
MENOPAUSE 60
SEPARATION FROM LIVING PARTNER 60
JAIL TERM OR PROBATION 60
DEATH OF CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER OTHER THAN SPOUSE 60
SERIOUS PERSONAL INJURY OR ILLNESS 45
MARRIAGE OR ESTABLISHING LIFE PARTNERSHIP 45
FIRED AT WORK 45
MARITAL OR RELATIONSHIP RECONCILIATION 40
RETIREMENT 40
CHANGE IN HEALTH OF IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER 40
WORK MORE THAN 40 HOURS PER WEEK 35
PREGNANCY OR CAUSING PREGNANCY 35
SEX DIFFICULTIES 35
GAIN OF NEW FAMILY MEMBER 35
BUSINESS OR WORK ROLE CHANGE 35
CHANGE IN FINANCIAL STATE 35
DEATH OF A CLOSE FRIEND (not a family member) 30
CHANGE IN NUMBER OF ARGUMENTS WITH SPOUSE OR LIFE PARTNER 30
MORTGAGE OR LOAN FOR A MAJOR PURPOSE 25
FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE OR LOAN 25
SLEEP LESS THAN 8 HOURS PER NIGHT 25
CHANGE IN RESPONSIBILITIES AT WORK 25
TROUBLE WITH IN-LAWS, OR WITH CHILDREN 25
OUTSTANDING PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT 25
SPOUSE BEGINS OR STOPS WORK 20
BEGIN OR END SCHOOL 20
CHANGE IN LIVING CONDITIONS (visitors in the home, change in roommates, 20
CHANGE IN PERSONAL HABITS (diet, exercise, smoking, etc.) 20
CHRONIC ALLERGIES 20
TROUBLE WITH BOSS 20
CHANGE IN WORK HOURS OR CONDITIONS 15
MOVING TO NEW RESIDENCE 15
PRESENTLY IN PRE-MENSTRUAL PERIOD 15
CHANGE IN SCHOOLS 15
CHANGE IN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES 15
CHANGE IN SOCIAL ACTIVITIES (more or less than before) 15
MINOR FINANCIAL LOAN 10
CHANGE IN FREQUENCY OF FAMILY GET-TOGETHERS 10
VACATION 10
PRESENTLY IN WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON 10
MINOR VIOLATION OF THE LAW 5