A variety of resources for finding information, visualizing data, and discovering new technologies
Mapping Tools and Projects
Big data on social media can be hard to analyze and present. People are always searching for new ways to make sense of this data. Here are some tools for understanding and using data visualization tools.
Use the mapping and visualization tools below to present your data in a new way. These resources can help you discover uses for visualization tools and get started mapping your data.
For more information on data visualization:
- Read this UIUC Libguide on Visualizing Your Data
- Check out this beginner’s guide to data visualization from The Guardian
Click on the image below to see an example of data visualization.
22 free tools for data visualization and analysis
This list from Computerworld includes reviews and explanations of free data analysis and visualization tools. It provides an estimated skill level needed for each tool.
36 Best Tools for Data Visualization
A list of data visualization tools presented by Creative Bloq.
Explosion of 15th Century Printing: A Data Visualization
An example of a data visualization project from Harvard’s metaLab. Maps the development of 15th century printing.
Gapminder: a fact-based worldview
A collection of data visualizations as well as a repository of global data. Gapminder is a non-profit dedicated to providing updated statistics and tools.
This site provides introductory information on GIS as well as news on products and developments.
Guides and Tutorials About Data
A list of guides and tutorials on using and visualizing data presented by the UIUC Scholarly Commons.
Guardian’s Data Visualizations
A repository of data visualizations from The Guardian.
Website for analyzing Twitter data on a global and local level.
Free resource from IBM for creating data maps, graphs, and other visualizations. Create an account to get started.
Tactical Technology Collective: Toolkits and Guides
A collection of resources for using information in activism from the non-profit Tactical Technology Collective.
Organizations
Research center founded to explore how commerce, governance, education and law impact the Internet and vice versa.
Centre for Communication Rights
CCR provides access to materials and resources relating to the right to communicate and the democratization of communication.
Women in Technology (WIT) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region
Funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative, has trained over 11,000 women and built the capacity of nearly 60 local women’s organizations in the Middle East.
Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Radio Liberty (RL)
Media organization that produces radio, Internet and television programs in countries where a free press is either banned by the government or not fully established. RFE/RL broadcasts in in 28 languages in 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and the Central Asian Republics.
A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses the Internet to catalyze greater government openness and transparency, and provides new tools and resources for media and citizens. Works to improve access to government information by making it available online and by creating new tools and websites to enable individuals and communities to better access that information and put it to use.
Brings emerging women leaders in technology sectors from the Middle East and Africa together with American counterparts for a professional mentorship and exchange program at leading companies in the United States.
Supports multi-disciplinary study of the social implications of the internet.
The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, Canada focusing on advanced research and development at the intersection of digital media, global security, and human rights.
Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project
The Project conducts public opinion surveys around the world on a broad array of subjects ranging from people’s assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day. Nearly 400,000 interviews in 63 countries have been conducted as part of the project’s work.
Websites
Global map that updates geotagged tweets through Twitter’s API. The data can be viewed as a heat map or cluster and results can be filtered by timeframe, keyword, and hashtag. Users may zoom into more specific geographic locations and view the most popular hashtags are in those spaces.
Podcasts
A collection of podcasts on social media collected by the University of Oxford.
Illinois International: A Discussion on Egypt and Syria with Mohamed ElFayoumy
Link to a podcast discussion on issues in Egypt and Syria.
