Seek and Finds

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Seek and Finds are an assignment type that will be part of each module. Students are asked to find a visualization that fits a prompt, and then to answer some questions about it.

Seek and Find Details

For these assignments you must bring us a … (data) visualization!

Sorry, this is a reference to an old Monty Python movie – if you don’t know the reference, that line won’t be funny. Even if you do know the reference, it might not be funny.

Each module, we will ask you to bring us a visualization (we will have these seek and find assignments every module). There will usually be some specification of what you need to find. We might ask for a certain kind of data, or an example of the use of a specific technique.

You will be asked to answer some questions (including where you found the visualization).

You must upload an image. It can be a screen shot from a paper or web page. It could be a photograph of something that you saw in real life. Whatever it is, it should be a standard picture file (.PNG, .JPEG, .WEBP, etc). If you can, include the title, caption, and labels in the picture - but do not give the “whole page” (for example, if the picture is a figure in a paper). Please do not upload files in Apple .HEIC format.

The Seek and Find Ground Rules

  • It cannot be a visualization that you (or someone in class) made.
  • It must be publicly available.
  • You must provide an image that you can upload to Canvas.
  • If it’s on a web page, you should copy a picture (either use a screen shot or copy the image).
  • Please shrink the image to a reasonable size - if it’s too small for people to see the detail, they’ll be able to get it from the link you give. You should also provide a link to the source.
  • Give proper attribution - say where you got it. Provide a link if possible.
  • Try to find something interesting (to you at least)

Rubric

Levels:

  • 75 (BC) - there is a valid handin (but neither an acceptable visualization, nor responses)
  • 82 (B) - reasonable visualization
  • 86/87 (AB) - reasonable visualization, reasonable responses to questions
  • 90/92 (A, high A) - reasonable visualization, good/notable responses

We may give a bonus point for a particularly intriguing visualization or thoughtful set of responses.

You cannot earn an A+ on a Seek and Find Assignment.

New for 2025…

Seek and Finds have been a regular part of this class since the beginning.

For the past several years, they’ve had the same form: they were done every week, and they were submitted as a Canvas discussion.

This year I’m trying to improve it by:

  1. Fewer. Once a week was too much.
  2. As an assignment, not as a discussion. Students liked seeing what other students found, but rarely did much online discussion. We’ll try to make other mechanisms (a gallery? a class discussion?) so you can see what other students found.
  3. Specific questions. Since we’re turning them in as surveys, I can ask questions about the visualizations. This should help better connect the work of the seek and finds to the class content. It will also make assessment better.