The Data Is Made Out Of People!

If you’re looking at a chart, it’s probably made out of people. And some people are more likely to show up in your charts than others. This talk focuses on those people: Government workers; people who have been arrested; gun owners; people who have registered to vote; campaign donors; people with student debt. All of these people are likely to be represented by a dot, a line or an average. Having empathy for the data, both how it is collected and who is represented by it gives practitioners better insight into how to produce respectful work. Ultimately, it makes for a superior analysis and encourages better choices for both analyzers and collectors.