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Ask HN: How do you analyze time series data in 2024?
I inherited a large time series JSON dataset in 2024. I've been successful in using the Observable Framework[1] by writing a Rust (rust-script) data loader[2] to parse and plot simple line charts[3] to visually see the data. There are hundreds of graphs over years of data so I would like to identify what graphs I should be paying attention to. My initial thought is to calculate metrics on each graph such as:
- Variability: how "spread out" are the data points from one another?
- Trend: direction of data path, up or down?
- Slope: are the data points increasing or decreasing?
- Level: where are the data points on the vertical axis?
What libraries, AI, databases, etc... would you recommend that would allow me to calculate these values? I am no data scientist and don't need forecasting but overall, I just want a dashboard that shows the most "important" graphs.
[1] https://observablehq.com/framework/
[2] https://observablehq.com/framework/loaders
[3] https://observablehq.com/@observablehq/plot-simple-line-chart
edit: the x-axis is Time while the y-axis can be values such as duration, frequency, intervals
- noduerme 3y agoA 2d graph can only include one of those four things on the Y-axis, if the X-axis is time.
- hbcondo714 3y agoYeah, I just added an edit to the submission noting that the x-axis is indeed Time while the y-axis can be values such as duration, frequency, intervals
- theGeatZhopa 3y agoI have the same problem. One thing I thought about is "visual comparison of my graphs" in style of Tinder, left swipe / right swipe. Divide & conquer. Slope, trend and others seem not to fulfill my needings, as my data sometimes is similar. I doing it with weighted average right now. But eager for other solutions. Let's hope you'll get a professional answer to your question.
- lamename 3y agoThere are common answers but it really depends on: What questions do you want the data to answer?
- hbcondo714 3y agoOf the 4 listed, I would say the primary objective is identifying a trend in the data to know whether the data is moving in a specific direction—increasing or decreasing in value. I already added linear regression marks that draws linear regression lines with confidence bands[1] to my Observable plots but they do not give me a “value” so I need to manually look at the graphs and read the red line. [1] https://observablehq.com/plot/marks/linear-regression https://observablehq.com/plot/marks/linear-regression