Journal of Data Science

The use of visuals is a key component in scientific communication. Decisions about the design of a data visualization should be informed by what design elements best support the audience’s ability to perceive and understand the components of the data visualization. We build on the foundations of Cleveland and McGill’s work in graphical perception, employing a large, nationally-representative, probability-based panel of survey respondents to test perception in stacked bar charts. Our findings provide actionable guidance for data visualization practitioners to employ in their work.

The 2020 Census County Assessment Tool was developed to assist decennial census data users in identifying deviations between expected census counts and the released counts across population and housing indicators. The tool also offers contextual data for each county on factors which could have contributed to census collection issues, such as self-response rates and COVID-19 infection rates. The tool compiles this information into a downloadable report and includes additional local data sources relevant to the data collection process and experts to seek more assistance.