Communicating with Data

Communicating with Data: The Art of Writing for Data Science aims to help students and researchers write about their data insights in a way that is both compelling and faithful to the data. This book aims to be both a resource for students who want to learn how to write about scientific findings both formally and for broader audiences and a textbook for instructors who are teaching science communication. In addition, a researcher who is looking for help with writing can use this book to self-train. The book consists of five parts. Part I helps the novice learn to write by reading the work of others. Part II delves into the specifics of how to describe data at a level appropriate for publication, create informative and effective visualizations, and communicate an analysis pipeline through well-written, reproducible code. Part III demonstrates how to reduce a data analysis to a compelling story and organize and write the first draft of a technical paper. Part IV addresses revision; this includes advice on writing about statistical findings in a clear and accurate way, general writing advice, and strategies for proof-reading and revising. Finally, Part V gives advice about communication strategies beyond the witten page, which includes giving talks, building a professional network, and participating in online communities. This part also contains 22 “portfolio prompts” aimed at building upon the guidance and examples in the earlier parts of the book and building a writer’s portfolio of data communication.