My advise, since you say you aren't too fluent in the world of Linux. I've always chosen the "install alongside" method without issue (i've heard it
can break OS9 though). It's also the easiest. Playing around with partitions can be dangerous if you happen to delete/resize/format or install to the wrong one.
As for swap... If you have at least 1.5gb ram i don't see it 100% necessary unless you plan to do a lot of compiling software. You
can skip it, but it's still a good idea to have some, even if it's only 64mb. However, if down the road you feel you need swap (if you skipped it during install), you can always create a swapfile on the installed system (or a usb stick) and turn it on and off whenever you want. The swapfile on usb option might be what you want if you are worried about your ssd.
I personally would skip a "data" partition,
unless you want to share files between OS X and Linux. Then you'd have to format it as msdos or vfat as Tiger/Leopard cant seem to read/write Linux file systems. However, the drawback to using msdos/vfat is it has a 2gb file size limit. I just use a sandisk cruzer micro-usb drive to share files. It's super small and out of the way.
You can install more than 1 Linux distro (my powerbook triple boots Leopard, Ubuntu, and Void), but i wouldn't suggest it until you get more familiar with open firmware ,yaboot, grub and chrooting in to a broken system via a live Linux recovery cd/dvd.
That's my 2 cents. Doesn't mean you should follow it, but rather it gives you options to think about. Everybody sets up their systems their own way. Trial and error is part of the game. I've wiped out my systems quite a few times in the past by mistake. Makes for a good learning experience even if you lose some hair in the process.
Cheers
