Data Work – Examples of Visualizations and Explorations

I work very closely with data, its analyses, and the visualizations of what can be gleaned from it. Here are some examples of this published across the web.

Network Analysis

Social network analysis is a favorite tool of mine because of how illustrative it can be of the connectedness or sparseness of networks. Here are a few samples of SNA work done in Kumu for the MilitiaWatch blog. Included here are analysis-focused uses of the platform (first picture) and visualization-focused uses of the platform (second picture). Not pictured are similar studies conducted in Gephi, which isn’t included due to its primary use as an analytical tool within my workflow.

Subset of militia Zello channels, sized by degree and colored by the proportion of blocked to following accounts (dataset became part of a Guardian article regarding the storming of the US Capitol Building)
Subset of a social network analysis of actors and individuals connected to Kelly Loeffler in GA (dataset now used in a SNA teaching course at a Virginia university)

Syria Conflict Mapping Project (sample)

From 2015 through 2018 I worked as a researcher at The Carter Center’s Syria Conflict Mapping Project, where I drafted weekly and episodic reports that featured maps and other visuals. Here are some samples from that time period.

All visuals can be expanded with a click, and have a description with source links over them.

  • Heatmap of conflict events in Syria superimposed over a control map, part of a Weekly Update for The Carter Center
  • Table of average daily conflict events in Syria by governorate, part of a Weekly Update for The Carter Center
  • Original unit structure of Hai’yat Tahrir al-Sham, part of a report for The Carter Center
A Twitter thread from November 2017 through August 2018 visualizing point control in Syria here. All TCC reports, including those after I left my position there, are available here.

Other data-heavy pieces without major visuals:

  • Kyle Rittenhouse meme symbol analysis
  • PA voting records versus Light Foot Militia presense
These are quite different tables, but express some of the ways that qualitative and quantitative data divisions can be broken down with the right formatting and analytical tools.