Fathom Overview
Workshop on using Fathom in School
Improvement Planning (SIP)
What is it?

Fathom is a software program that you
can use to explore your SIP data
– Produces tables, graphs, statistics,...
– Exposes relationships that exist within the
data
How is it used?


You can import data into Fathom from
Excel and other programs
“Drag and drop” icons onto the page to
easily create graphs and tables
How is it used?...

Allows you to explore data relationships
– look at the same data in different ways
– “highlight” data of interest in many graphs
at once
The Fathom Document
Dynamic Statistics


Fathom documents contain objects that
represent various ways of looking at
data.
The objects in the document are
dynamically linked to one another.
– If one object changes, the others are
automatically updated

This makes Fathom an ideal
environment for exploring data.
Fathom Documents


Fathom documents
contain text, data,
tables, graphs, and
other objects that
display and analyze
data.
Fathom documents
are created by
adding objects
to the Fathom
Window.
The Fathom Window
the Menu bar
the Shelf
the Fathom
document
The Menu Bar and Shelf


The Menu bar provides access to
actions that you may wish to carry out.
The Shelf provides access to objects
that you may wish to add to your
Fathom document.
the Menu bar
the Shelf
Importing Data
Adding a Data Collection


To add a Collection
to your Fathom
document, drag a
Collection off the
Shelf
The Collection is
currently empty
Using Spreadsheet Data
To copy data from a
spreadsheet
1. Open the
spreadsheet.
2. Select all cells that
contain data and
column headings
(CNTRL-A).
3. Copy (CNTRL-C)
the cells.

Using Spreadsheet Data



Go to your Fathom
document
Select the empty
Collection in your
document
Paste (EditPaste
Cases or CTRL-V)
the data into the
collection
Cases in Fathom


The individual “rows” of data in the
spreadsheet are now “cases” in
Fathom.
After pasting in data or importing, the
Collection is now populated.
Data Import
Empty Collection
Populated Collection
Viewing Data
Inspecting Collections


Double clicking on a Collection
launches the Inspector
The Inspector allows you to view and
edit the data and add new attributes
Double click
to inspect
Attributes and Values

Attributes represent what types of data
are shown in each case.
– Each case has a value for each attribute
– Generated data may have a formula.
attributes
case number
values
Inspecting Cases


Dragging open a Collection will show
each case as an individual icon.
Double click on a case to inspect it.
Double click
to inspect
Drag corner to
see full collection
Adding Tables
You can view your
data like in a
spreadsheet by
using a Table object
1. Select the
Collection
2. Drag a Table object
off the Shelf and
onto the document

Table
Using Tables
collection
name


Use Tables
to view, edit,
or create
case
new cases numbers
and attributes
Tables provide a
“spreadsheet”
style view of
the data
case
attributes
click to add
new attribute
Entering Data
Using the Inspector



You can add data to
a Collection using
the Inspector
Double click on the
Collection to open
an Inspector
Clicking on <new>
lets you create new
data attributes
Adding New Cases

To add new cases you can either:
1. Select the Collection, and choose the
menu item DataNew Cases
2. Right click on the Inspector and choose
New Cases from the
context menu
Editing in the Inspector


You can add new values for cases by
typing them into the Inspector
Use the arrow buttons at the bottom of
the Inspector to move between cases
edit values
navigate cases
Using Tables




Cases can also be
added and edited
using a Table
Select the Collection
and drag a Table off
the Shelf
Click on the cells to
edit the values
Click on <new> to
add new attributes
Graphing Data
Creating an Empty Graph

To create a new
Graph, simply
drag a Graph
object off the
shelf and drop
it into the
document
Adding Data with Inspectors



Open an inspector
on the Collection
Drag the attributes
that you want to
graph onto the axis
If only one attribute
is dragged “count” is
placed automatically
onto the other axis
Adding Data with Tables


Create a Table for the Collection
Drag the columns that you want to
graph onto the axis
Changing the Graph Type


When one attribute is plotted, the
default graph is a “dot plot”
The graph type can be changed by
clicking in the top right corner
Exploring Data
Different Views of Data


Objects in Fathom are dynamically
linked
Selecting a Case in one object will
highlight it in all other related objects
Selecting data

A selected group in one graph will be
highlighted in all graphs
Click on
one bar
to see the
same group
in other
graphs
Summarizing Data

Summary tables give a a good overview
of key statistics (mean, standard
deviation, etc.)
– Drag a summary table off
the shelf
– Drag attributes onto
the arrows to be
displayed either as
rows or columns