10  Midday Work Session (11:30-3:00)

10.1 Session Overview

This midday work session is your opportunity to apply what you’ve learned during the morning workshop to your own data and create visualizations for your capstone project. This is a dedicated time for implementation, troubleshooting, and refinement with support available as needed.

10.2 Session Structure

  • Individual Implementation Time: Apply the CLEAR framework principles to your own data
  • One-on-One Consultations: Teal and John will be available to help with technical challenges and design questions
  • Peer Collaboration: Feel free to collaborate with your colleagues on common challenges

10.3 Resources Available

  • AidData reports for reference (digital copies)
  • Reference cheat sheets for ggplot2 and the tidyverse
  • Code examples from morning session
  • CLEAR framework checklist

10.4 Working Guidelines

  1. Start with a clear story: What is the key insight you want to communicate?
  2. Choose the right chart type: Consider what comparison will best highlight your insight
  3. Build incrementally: Start with a basic version, then enhance step by step
  4. Test with colleagues: Get quick feedback as you work
  5. Document your process: Keep track of your code and design decisions

10.5 Implementation Plan

To make the most of this work session, consider following this implementation plan:

10.5.1 Data Preparation (30 min)

  • Identify the specific dataset you’ll be working with
  • Filter for the relevant subset of data
  • Transform data into the appropriate format for your visualization
  • Explore the data to confirm your key insights

10.5.2 Basic Visualization (30 min)

  • Create a simple version of your chosen chart type
  • Focus on getting the basic structure right
  • Ensure your data is displaying correctly

10.5.3 Enhancement (1 hour)

  • Apply the CLEAR framework principles:
    • Add strategic color highlighting
    • Refine chart type if needed
    • Create explanatory title and subtitle
    • Consider your audience needs
    • Add proper references
  • Implement annotations and highlights
  • Apply AidData styling

10.5.4 4. Refinement & Feedback (30 min)

  • Get feedback from colleagues or instructors
  • Make adjustments based on feedback
  • Test your visualization with someone unfamiliar with the data

10.6 Technical Support Available

During this session, you can get help with:

  • Data preparation and transformation
  • Chart selection and implementation
  • Design refinement
  • Code troubleshooting
  • Integration with your broader analysis

If you need assistance, sign up on the whiteboard for a one-on-one consultation.

10.7 Common Visualization Scenarios

Here are some common visualization scenarios for Chinese development finance data that you might consider for your capstone:

10.7.1 Temporal Patterns

  • Changes in lending volumes over time
  • Evolution of sectoral focus
  • Before/after comparisons of policy shifts

10.7.2 Geographic Distribution

  • Regional concentration of lending
  • Country-level comparisons
  • Spatial patterns and strategic focus

10.7.3 Compositional Analysis

  • ODA-like vs. OOF-like composition
  • Sectoral breakdown
  • Loan vs. grant proportions

10.7.4 Financial Terms Analysis

  • Interest rate comparisons
  • Maturity structure
  • Collateralization patterns

10.7.5 Relational Insights

  • Correlation between factors (e.g., resources and lending)
  • Relationship between economic indicators and finance
  • Comparison to other creditors

10.8 Preparing for the Afternoon Session

As you work on your visualizations, keep in mind that you’ll be presenting them during the afternoon session. Prepare to discuss:

  1. The key insight your visualization communicates
  2. How you applied the CLEAR framework principles
  3. What technical or design challenges you encountered
  4. How you might further refine your visualization

This will help structure your work during this session and ensure you