EN.663.618 Chap.4 Data Storytelling and the Research Walkthrough
Data Storytelling and the Research Walkthrough
One speech, two names
The syllabus lists this assignment as the Research Walkthrough, worth 10% of the grade with slides required. The rubric sheet calls the same five to seven minute talk the Storytelling with Data Speech.
Either way the task is identical: take a dataset from one of the sites the course provides, frame a research question it suggests, analyse what the numbers mean for your audience, and explain both your conclusions and the methods that produced them.
Why data need a storyteller
The assignment packet rejects the idea that data speak for themselves.
Numbers become meaningful only when a communicator adds context, explanation and application. The packet asks you to walk a line between process and product: show enough of your method that listeners trust your choices, but not so much that they drown in detail. It also asks for a meaningful takeaway rather than a trivial statistic, and a clear answer to why the audience should care.
A visit to the Technical Communication Lab, with confirmation sent to your instructor, is required beforehand.
Designing the charts
The Week 3 slides argue that Presentation Zen principles apply even to data visualisations that can never be minimal.
Their examples include a crowded chart of test scores over several decades, a county map that overlays education and income data, a scatter of scores against earnings with points that break the trend, and a chart of student ages. The lecture judges data displays by three Es: effective, ethical and efficient.
The packet adds context, suitable chart types, uncluttered visuals, functional titles, a unified look and click delay.
What the rubric rewards
All four rubric sections carry 25% here.
The speech-specific lines ask you to narrate the research and analysis process concisely, use original data visualisations with an obvious purpose, provide non-obvious insights based on numerical evidence, avoid overwhelming the audience, and keep every chart clear, consistent and easy to read. Together they describe a talk that spends little time on procedure and most of its time on what the numbers reveal.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Research Walkthrough and Storytelling with Data: the same speech
- 02
Framing a research question from a dataset
- 03
Context, explanation and application
- 04
Showing your method without drowning in it
- 05
The 3 Es of displaying data
- 06
Redesigning dense charts with Presentation Zen principles
- 07
Insight versus factoid in the final takeaway
Worked example · free
Turn a factoid into an insight
- 1Explain why the current line is a factoid.
- 2Find a comparison inside the data that is not obvious.
- 2State the insight and why this audience should care.
Key terms
- Data Narrative
- Combines analysis and design into a story that explains what a dataset shows and why it matters.
- Functional Title
- States the finding a chart shows, rather than only naming its topic or variables.
- Factoid
- Presents an obvious or uninteresting statistic that gives the audience no new insight.
- Three Es
- Judges a data display as effective, ethical and efficient, the lecture's test for charts on slides.
Data Storytelling and the Research Walkthrough FAQ
Is the Research Walkthrough the same as the Storytelling with Data speech?
Yes. The syllabus and assignment packet use the Research Walkthrough name, while the rubric sheet heads the same assignment Storytelling with Data Speech. Both describe a five to seven minute, slide-supported talk built on a dataset from the provided sites, and the rubric splits the grade evenly across delivery, slides, story and content, and speech-specific criteria.
Do I have to visit the Technical Communication Lab before my data presentation?
Yes, the packet makes a lab visit a requirement for this speech, and the consultant must send your instructor confirmation. The lab offers free individual appointments covering presentation practice and visual design or data visualisation. The syllabus warns it is very popular, so reserve a slot well before the week you present.
Should I remove outliers that do not fit my trend?
Usually not. One lecture slide shows a scatter of scores against earnings, marks points that defy the trend, asks whether to omit them, and answers often, no. Keeping them is part of the ethical E. Show them, explain why they differ, and let the pattern stand on the remaining evidence.
How much of my analysis method should I explain?
Enough for the audience to trust your choices, and no more. The rubric rewards narrating the research and analysis process concisely, and the packet warns against boring detail about method. Name the question, the few decisions that shaped your result and the reason for each, then move to the finding.
Assessment move
Draft your takeaway sentence first, then choose charts only if they lead to it. For each chart, write a functional title, grey everything except the series that proves the point, and plan its click-delay order. Rehearse the method section against a timer and cut it to about one minute.
