Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Saving Lives with Data Visualizations (A...

Batova, Tatiana

Case

Saving Lives with Data Visualizations (A): Charts in the Time of Cholera

Batova, Tatiana

BC-0288 | Published October 3, 2022 | 21 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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With COVID-19 the most recent reminder, pandemics have plagued humankind for much of recorded history. Cholera killed millions around the world in the 19th century, and there were three major cholera epidemics in the United Kingdom. Like modern data scientists in medical fields, 19th-century proponents of data science used data and visualizations to investigate the causes of cholera, suggest prevention strategies, and argue for better sanitation. While some of these endeavors were based on misguided beliefs current in the medical and scientific communities at the time, others debunked misconceptions and saved lives. This case follows William Farr, John Snow, and Florence Nightingale, three early data scientists, as they created their data visualizations, which had different persuasive effects on their contemporaries. It is accompanied by a student spreadsheet with the data they used. This case is used at Darden in the second-year course “Storytelling with Data,” and it would also be suitable in courses covering data visualization or persuasion.

- Become acquainted with novel and unique chart types. - Learn to align chart types, both common and unique, with the audience, their context of use, the key message, and available data. - Understand the benefits and tradeoffs of each visualization type. - Consider how audience characteristics can change over time. - Consider the role of data visualization in health care management (past and present). - Practice creating charts (both common and unique) in a specific software program.