{"id":1785,"date":"2020-09-08T09:52:21","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T07:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.embl.org\/events\/?p=1785"},"modified":"2022-07-22T10:52:40","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T09:52:40","slug":"how-to-visualise-biological-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/course-and-conference-office\/2020\/09\/how-to-visualise-biological-data\/","title":{"rendered":"How to visualise biological data"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Isn\u2019t it always the way? You have amazing results, but you can see your colleagues\u2019 eyes glaze over when you try to explain it to them. Why not try to present your data in a visually appealing way, and make sure all eyes are on your work?<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>1.     <\/span><\/span>Make the data speak for itself<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you start to think about visualising your data, try to make them as standalone as possible. If you are presenting the work – for example, on a poster at a conference – make sure the visualisation is clear and comprehensible, so that people can grasp the concept without you needing to stand there and explain it. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.     <\/span><\/span>Ain\u2019t nobody got time for that!<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing you have to realise – people want information, and they want it fast! They’re not going to read the captions, they’re not going to read all the beautiful text you’ve written, so the more you can put directly on the visualisation to help people understand it, the better.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.     <\/span><\/span>Drama, darling!<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you start talking about creating illustrations for more broad communication other factors come into play – use dramatic elements, make it eye-catching, appeal to human emotion, make it relatable and appealing, or possibly even controversial! It needs to stir emotions!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.     <\/span><\/span>Determine your target audience<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously if you’re going to publish in a scientific journal it’s really important to be accurate, because you’re trying to communicate with peers who have a similar level of knowledge to you. If you’re on the front page of the New York Times it’s probably more important to engage people and get people interested.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.     <\/span><\/span>Understand the concept<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking at complex multivariable relationship start by looking at the individual variables, and make sure that you understand what’s going on at a low level before you try and do something more complex.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6.     <\/span><\/span>Don\u2019t skip the planning phase<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decide on the concept. Sketch your plan. Draw a storyboard. Record narration if required. Once these processes are done you can move onto the design, and then we go into the design, modelling and animation process \u2013 depending on which medium you\u2019ve chosen for your visualisation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7.     <\/span><\/span>Find patterns
<\/span><\/b>By visualising biological data, scientists can see patterns. Find these patterns and make them stand out, and in doing so you\u2019ll be able to better communicate your ideas to others and get them excited about your science.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8.     <\/span><\/span>Filter, map and render
<\/span><\/b>There are 3 main steps to getting your work visualised:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n