CMNS 325 –VISUALIZATION AND VISUAL CULTURE

PROFESSOR: JAN MARONTATE & DAVID MURPHY

TA: ERIN ASHENHURST

MARCH 9, 2011

ASSIGNMENT: VISUALIZATION DESIGN 2

WRITTEN BY: EDWARD TJIONG

STUDENT #: 301062569

The graph presents an analysis of the percentage of divorce rate in Canada by the length of the marriage in Canada from 1990 to 2000. The data analyzed, however, does not include breakdowns in common-law unions, but only divorces obtained after a legal marriage. It is intended for public especially Canadian couples who are in / looking forward to marriage.

The description of the graph is as follows: in Table 1, the number of divorces in Canada had remained stable relatively around 3,200 to 3,800 divorces (32% to 38%) per 10,000 marriages for 10 years from 1990 to 2000 but the most important thing is to pay attention to length of marriage which could significantly contribute to that particular year’s percentage of divorces (out of 10,000 marriages). In the graph, it is shown that the length of marriage between 0-1 years (with percentage below 1% throughout 10 years)was least likely to affect the total divorce rate. On the other hand, the time between 3rd -4th year wedding anniversary (with percentage ranging from around 7% to 8%) was considered to be the hardest period to maintain because it is most likely ended up in divorce. In addition, there was an increasing trend of chances of divorces due to the increasing length of marriage until it reachesthe period between 4-5 years.

As divorce rate varies with length of marriage, the best graph that would be best to represent the assessment is timeline graph. In this case, the timeline graph used in this visualization could reveal trends in the data especially in figuring out the largest and least factor in the length of marriage to contribute to the percentage of divorce. In addition, in designing this graph, I refer particularly to fundamental principles by Tuffe (n.d.):

1)Comparisons: the differences between the percentages of divorce by length of marriage per year.

2)Causality: The length of marriage affects couple’s perception of problem. According to Karney & Bradbury (1995), “the duration of marriages is an important dimension in ascertaining the course of marital change – the variables that lead to a marriage breaking down after three years are probably different than those that lead to marriage ending after 15 years.” (pp.16). Consequently, while some problems may be recognized early in the marriage, other complaints may develop as the marriage progresses.

3)Multivariate Analysis: the percentage of Canadian divorce rate on different years, the percentage of Canadian divorce rate by different length of marriage, the number of Canadian divorces per year.

4)Integration of Evidence: A data from StatCan which was translated into a table of graph which supports the graph and the timeline graph with uses different colors to depict the data to show through.

5)Documentation: the display (percentage of Canadian divorce rate by length of marriage per year [1990-2000] ), the people who did the work (Edward Tjiong. a student of SFU), the data source (Statcan), the scale of measurement (percentage for y axis and year for x axis).

6)The Content: The use of Excel in counting the percentage of divorces by length of marriage by dividing the number of divorces by length of marriage (data in Table 2) divided by number of Canadian divorces (data in Table 1) to achieve information in Table 3. Afterwards, the visualization of data in Table 3 into a graph in Excel enables an initial graph which could be manipulated and enhanced further in Photoshop.

Reference

Reading:

Karney,B. & Bradbury, T. (1995). The Longitudinal Course of Marital Quality and Stability: a Review of Theory, Method and Research. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 118, no. 1-3, pp. 3-34

Tuffe, E. (n.d.). The Fundamental Principles of Analytical Design. Retrieved March 8, 2011 from

Statistical info:

Statistics Canada. (2009). Table A 6-5 Duration-specific divorce rate (per 10,000), Canada, marriage cohorts 1953-1954 to 2002-2003. Retrieved March 8, 2011 from