ReferenceUSA,
one of St. Louis County Library’s business databases, has recently added data
visualization capabilities to its list creation service. Data visualization can help customers create
pie charts, bar graphs and heat maps to represent the data they find through a
ReferenceUSA Custom Search. These
charts, graphs, and maps can be useful for market research, inserted into
presentations or used in marketing materials.
Job seekers can use data visualization to map the highest number of
companies within a certain area.
The
pie charts and bar graphs can show sales volume, employee size, city and zip
code. Heat maps can be generated for
number of employees, sales volume and location.
When looking at a heat map, areas of low concentration are green and
areas of high concentration are red. For
example, a customer looking to open a pizza parlor can create a heat map that
shows all of the pizza restaurants in a chosen area. Areas with many pizza parlors will be
red.
Another
data visualization tool is Map Based Search.
A map area, such as a metro area, can be divided into zip codes. The zip code with the highest concentration
of companies can be shown on the map.
Our pizza parlor customer could use Map Based Search to draw a map that
shows which areas have the most, or least, number of pizza parlors.
To
launch a charting visualization, first use the Custom Search tab and create a
list of companies. From the Search
Results page, you’ll soon see two new buttons:
“Chart,” and “Map.” Click the
button for the type of chart you want to create. You will have links and sliders on the
charting page to help you navigate and adjust your criteria. The charts and heat maps can be printed and
downloaded. Clicking “Back to Results”
will take you back to the results page.
If
you have any questions about ReferenceUSA’s data visualization capabilities
please contact the Reference Department at extension 2050.
--Paul S., Reference
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