Introduction
For this task, I am taking a look at the data produced by ETEC 540 66B in regards to our previous Task 8 Golden record assignment. The data has been run through a network-visualization tool called Palladio.
Getting started
I had quite a hard time understanding the data initially. I started by looking f0r my name, since I knew I would be best able to understand how my choices became visualized. Understanding that each line was a quiz answer, I continued by looking at the different layers of the data (facets) to understand where my choices met the choices of others.
Analysis
The facets seems to link certain grouping together. While there is some overlap between facets (i.e. a track that may be featured in multiple facets). The facets represent clusters of individuals with multiple choices in common. Displaying individuals and links to their choices in proximity to other individuals with common choices.
In analyzing the 4 facets that made up this cohort, I learned that my choices were more similar to Katie Muzyka and Jacey Bell, Jessica Presta, Jocelyn Fung. I generally came to understand that the closer the data is to the centre of the cluster, the more commonalities there were. For instance, in facet 3 you can see that Selene Joon was at the very centre of the data. Looking closer you can see that actually Selene’s data includes 27 values, meaning that each track was checked in her quiz. This is why we see her name at the middle of the cluster. This seems to have skewed the data quite a bit.
Analyzing the entire data visualization (without separating facets) gives us a good idea which tracks were most popular – those closer to the centre and with more connections are the most commonly chosen. For instance, two very popular choices were: “Track 18: Fifth symphony (first movement)”, and “Track 3: Percussion (Senegal).” Though it is difficult to see from the data why people chose their choices, I can use my own experience to speculate. I had included both of these two tracks in my own choices. I justified these choices because I wanted a variety of geographical locations (Senegal being one of the only African tracks) and I wanted to prioritize cultural impact (i.e. chosing Beethoven’s symphony over the lessor known european “Track 27: string quartet no. 13 in B flat” for instance). In this way, I am able to speculate that some people had similar criteria to my own.
It is harder to distinguish why other people may have made choices that were very different from my own. For instance, Zoe Armstrong was the only member of our group to chose “Track 8: Men’s House Song”. Without more information about it, I cannot speculate as to why that choice was made.