© Laureate International Universities 2016 DATA COMMENTARIES© Laureate International Universities 2016 What is a data commentary A data commentary can be a stand alone piece of text that provides an overview and interpretation of data collected through research. The data commentary is most commonly included in the results or discussion section of a report or a thesis.© Laureate International Universities 2016 The main purposes of a data commentary are to: • present the results of research, • interpret these results, • discuss the significance and implications of the results. Purpose of the data commentary© Laureate International Universities 2016 Structure of a data commentary Data Commentaries usually have the following elements: 1. Location prominent or summary statement 2. Highlighting statements 3. Discussion of implications, problems exceptions, recommendations© Laureate International Universities 2016 1.Location prominent statement A location prominent statement draws the reader’s attention to the specific table or figure so they can see the point or aspect indicated. This is useful when: • readers are required to consider more than one piece of information in a table or graph, or • when a series of tables or figures are being presented in the discussion An example of a location prominent statement is: In Table 5.4 Exchange rate of $A with US dollars, the data show that between June 2001 – June 2010 …© Laureate International Universities 2016 Summary statements tell what the figure or table shows. For example: The downward trend in student enrolments in General Science degrees from 1990 to date should be viewed in conjunction with the high level of enrolments in new Science based degrees such as Environmental Science, Bioengineering and Materials Science which have sustained the higher than expected enrolments. 1.Summary statement© Laureate International Universities 2016 Figure 1. Teenagers’ viewing time 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 1975 - TV generation 1980- TV generation 1985 - video generation 1990 - video generation 1995 - PC generation 2000- PC generation TV Video PC© Laureate International Universities 2016 Figure1 compares the time teenagers spent watching television and videos at five-year intervals between 1975 and the year 2000. An upward trend in the time teenagers spent watching television and videos at five year intervals between 1975 and the year 2000 should be viewed in conjunction with the introduction of, and developments in, television and video. Example of a Location prominent statement Example of a summary statement© Laureate International Universities 2016 2.Highlighting statements Highlighting statements are generalisations drawn from the data presented. Highlighting statements: • include trends or regularities in the data • separate important findings from less important ones • make claims of appropriate strength.© Laureate International Universities 2016 Statement 1: Overall, the number of hours that teenagers spent watching both television and videos increased gradually from a combined average of 10 hours per week in the late 1970s to a combined average of approximately 21 hours in the late 1990s. Statement 2: From 1975 to 1985, labelled as the ‘TV generation’, the number of hours teenagers spent watching television programs remained steady at around 10 hours per week. Statement 3: During the next decade, however, there was a considerable increase in television viewing among teenagers of about 6 hours per week. Similarly, with the introduction of the video and PC viewing time on these devices rose significantly, more than tripling between 1985 from 2 hours per week to 8 hours per week in 1995. Examples of highlighting statements© Laureate International Universities 2016 When writing highlighting statements it is important that you refer to the content of the figure or table. However, DO NOT: • describe the X and Y axis. Give the appropriate information only. • write about everything on the graph • write about the line or the bar – ‘The line went up’, ‘the bar went down’ • use language such as ‘I feel’, ‘as I have written’, ‘as you can see’, etc. Use academic language. • start sentences with but, so, also, and, for, since. Highlighting statements© Laureate International Universities 2016 The discussion should: • explain the data or • discuss the implications or • reinforce the ideas or • provide a recommendation 3.Discussion© Laureate International Universities 2016 Example of Discussion Surprisingly, the arrival of video did not replace television viewing in its popularity among teenagers. In the year 2000, the number of weekly hours teenagers spent watching television was about three times higher than that of watching videos.© Laureate International Universities 2016 Completed data commentary – location prominent Figure 1 compares the time teenagers spent watching television and videos at five-year intervals between 1975 and the year 2000. Overall, the number of hours that teenagers spent watching both television and videos increased gradually from a combined average of 10 hours per week in the late 1970s to a combined average of approximately 21 hours in the late 1990s. From 1975 to 1985, labelled as the ‘TV generation’, the number of hours teenagers spent watching television programs remained steady at around 10 hours per week. During the next decade, however, there was a considerable increase in the television viewing among teenagers of about 6 hours per week. Similarly, with the introduction of the video and PC viewing time on these devices rose significantly, more than tripling between 1985 from 2 hours per week to 8 hours per week in 1995. Surprisingly, the arrival of video did not replace television viewing in its popularity among teenagers. In the year 2000, the number of weekly hours teenagers spent watching television was about three times higher than that of watching videos.© Laureate International Universities 2016 Completed data commentary – summary statement prominent An upward trend in the time teenagers spent watching television and videos at five year intervals between 1975 and the year 2000 should be viewed in conjunction with the introduction of, and developments in, television and video. Overall, the number of hours that teenagers spent watching both television and videos increased gradually from a combined average of 10 hours per week in the late 1970s to a combined average of approximately 21 hours in the late 1990s. From 1975 to 1985, labelled as the ‘TV generation’, the number of hours teenagers spent watching television programs remained steady at around 10 hours per week. During the next decade, however, there was a considerable increase in the television viewing among teenagers of about 6 hours per week. Similarly, with the introduction of the video and PC viewing time on these devices rose significantly, more than tripling between 1985 from 2 hours per week to 8 hours per week in 1995. Surprisingly, the arrival of video did not replace television viewing in its popularity among teenagers. In the year 2000, the number of weekly hours teenagers spent watching television was about three times higher than that of watching videos (Figure 1: Teenagers’ viewing time)© Laureate International Universities 2016 References Swales, J. & Feake, C. 2012. Academic Writing for Graduate Students, 3rd ed., University of Michigan, Michigan.