Intro to data visualisation: Tables - PeppermintT/DataVisualisation GitHub Wiki

Tables: reference tables & demonstration tables

• Enabling your audience to look up specific values or compare them with one another.

• Showing different units of measure or magnitude in the same display.

• Combining summary and detail in the same display, like showing values alongside running totals or changes between cases.

• Reference tables: Reference tables are designed to help users to look up specific values. They are typically large, detailed and complex, and are usually found in an appendix or provided digitally in an open format

• Demonstration tables: Demonstration tables illustrate a point or reinforce an argument. They should be concise and simple, so only present the numbers that you need to convey your message. It is usually better to use several small demonstration tables to convey different messages than one large one as messages can be lost.

• Everything that we produce in government should be as inclusive as possible. This includes our graphs and tables. Detailed information on accessibility can be found on the Government Digital Service (GDS) website.

• More information on making tables accessible can be found on GOV.UK and in our ‘Making analytical publications accessible‘ guidance.

• Making spreadsheets accessible: a checklist of the basics is also a useful tool.