Journal of Data Science

How do statistical regression results compare to intuitive, visually fitted results? Fitting lines by eye through a set of points has been explored since the 20th century. Common methods of fitting trends by eye involve maneuvering a string, black thread, or ruler until the fit is suitable, then drawing the line through the set of points. In 2015, the New York Times introduced an interactive feature, called ‘You Draw It,’ where readers are asked to input their own assumptions about various metrics and compare how these assumptions relate to reality. This research is intended to implement ‘You Draw It’, adapted from the New York Times, as a way to measure the patterns we see in data. In this paper, we describe the adaptation of an old tool for graphical testing and evaluation, eye-fitting, for use in modern web-applications suitable for testing statistical graphics. We present an empirical evaluation of this testing method for linear regression, and briefly discuss an extension of this method to non-linear applications.

Many small and rural places are shrinking. Interactive dashboards are the most common use cases for data visualization and context for exploratory data tools. In our paper, we will use Iowa data to explore the specific scope of how dashboards are used in small and rural area to empower novice analysts to make data-driven decisions. Our framework will suggest a number of research directions to better support small and rural places from shrinking using an interactive dashboard design, implementation and use for the every day analyst.