Tables

• Read the headings and sub-headings before looking in detail at the body of the table.
• Work out how each column is derived.
• Look for patterns -or the lack of patterns - in the data.
• Look for differences between groups or categories.
• If the table contains any totals or sub-totals, work out how they were calculated.
• Read the footnotes. They often explain anomalies or apparent inconsistencies, especially where there are errors from rounding up or down.
• Compare your reading of the table with the verbal summary (if there is one). Most reference tables should stand on their own, but you may find a page of notes explaining the terms or conventions used (the labour market data in the Labour Market Trends is a good example of this).
• If the table shows indexes, check the base year. Was it typical or unusual in some way? If the figures for the base year were unusually high or low, then the indexes for other years may appear distorted.

Charts

• Read the headings and look at the axis labels to find out what the chart is trying to show.
• Look at the shape of the curve(s) and describe to yourself what this shows.
• Check the axes again to make sure you know what units have been used and that the scales start at zero - if one or other axis has been cut, check how much this expands the scale you can see and how this affects or distorts the curve.
• Compare the chart with the verbal summary and check that they are saying the same thing.

For more on using data and presenting it in different formats refer to Economics and the labour market (a Skills and Enterprise Network publication available from DfEE publications: tel. (0845) 602 2260; fax (0845) 603 3360).