It was Professor Plot in the Diagram with a Graph

You probably were taught how to graph data in high

school. Depending on your work, you may
frequently plot data yourself or look at graphs
prepared by others. Even if you don’t use graphs on
your job, you may run into them during your leisure
time, reading the newspaper, managing your
finances, or playing Dungeons and Dragons. But
there’s a big difference between looking at someone
else’s graph and preparing one yourself. When you
I’m looking for clues. were learning how to graph in school, the teachers
told you what kind of graph to use. They gave you
carefully selected data that was matched to the graph you were supposed to create. There was
help available if you had any questions. Now, it’s just you and your computer. So if you have no
clue as to where to begin, here are a few tips that may help.

First let’s get past the jargon of plots, charts, graphs, and diagrams. All of these terms are defined
as visual representations of data. All are used synonymously. All are used as both nouns and
verbs. All have other meanings. To split hairs:

Plots tend to place more emphasis on individual data points.

Charts tend to involve lines and areas more than individual points.
Graphs tend to be more mathematically complex than charts and plots.
ll the entire data space.

Not everyone would agree with this, of course. That being said, you can usually refer to visual
representations of data by any of the four terms without being called out by a smart-aleck critic.
If you’re referring to a specific kind of visual representations of data, one of the four terms
usually is preferred, for example, bar charts, scatter plots, and block diagrams. Most specific
kinds of visual representations of data are called plots or charts, and to a much lesser extent,
diagrams. The term graph is used mostly in a general sense, which is how it is used in this blog.

A Graph a Minute
The first thing you’ll need to do is figure out what kinds of graphs you could draw. Start by
answering these questions:
Is your focus on variables or samples? Do you want to show how a number of samples
are related to each other on the basis of one or more variables or do you want to show
how a number of variables are related to each other for a very small number of samples?
Will you plot individual points or group means? How many data points do you have to
plot? Do you want to show the points individually or do you want to show the averages
of groups of data points (this is useful when you have a large number of data points)?
 What is the aim of the graph? There are many reasons to plot data and most graphs
have multiple goals. For simplicity, decide whether the primary aim is to show:
» Data frequency and distribution
» Relative proportions of the components of a mixture
» Properties or values of data points
» Trends, patterns, or other relationships among variables.
How many axes will you need? How many variables do you have? Are they measured
on the same or different scales? Are the scales discrete or continuous?
Once you can answer those questions, you can use this table to help you choose some of the
more common kinds of graphs to try with your data. There are, of course, a virtually uncountable
number of kinds of graphs, subspecies of graphs, variations and extensions of graphs, and
combinations of graphs. To start, focus on simple graphs you can get from the software you have
available. Later, you can prepare the Piper plots you used to justify your purchase of that
specialized piece of software you wanted.

Common Types of Graphs for General Data Analysis.

Data Scales
Used to Chart Horizontal Vertical Additional
Chart Show Axes Axis Axis Axes Availability
Categorical,
Box Plot Distribution Rectangular continuous Continuous Specialized software
(sample size)
Ordinal,
Dot Plot Distribution Rectangular Ordinal Specialized software
continuous
Ordinal,
Histogram Distribution Rectangular Ordinal Spreadsheet software
continuous
Ordinal,
Probability Plot Distribution Rectangular Continuous Specialized software
continuous
Q-Q Plot Distribution Rectangular Ordinal Ordinal Specialized software
Stem-Leaf Ordinal,
Distribution Rectangular Ordinal Specialized software
Diagram continuous
Continuous Continuous Continuous
Ternary Plot Mixtures Triangular Specialized software
(percentages) (percentages) (Percentages)
Continuous
Pie Chart Mixtures Circular Categorical Spreadsheet software
(percentages)
Ordinal,
Area Chart Properties Rectangular Continuous Spreadsheet software
continuous
Bar Chart Properties Rectangular Categorical Continuous Spreadsheet software
Candlestick Develop from scatter
Properties Rectangular Continuous Continuous
Chart plot
Control Chart Properties Rectangular Continuous Continuous Specialized software
Develop from scatter
Deviation Plot Properties Rectangular Continuous Continuous
plot
Categorical,
Line Chart Properties Rectangular Continuous Spreadsheet software
ordinal
Map Properties Rectangular Continuous Continuous Any Specialized software
Matrix Plot Properties Rectangular Nominal Nominal Text Develop from table
Develop from scatter
Means Plot Properties Rectangular Continuous Continuous
plot
Develop from scatter
Spread Plot Properties Rectangular Continuous Continuous
plot
Block Diagram Properties Cubic Nominal Nominal Nominal Specialized software
Ordinal,
Rose Diagram Properties Circular Continuous Specialized software
continuous
Multivariable Rectangular,
Relationships Any Continuous Continuous Specialized software
Plot circular, other
Bubble Plot Relationships Rectangular Continuous Continuous Continuous Spreadsheet software
Contour Plot Relationships Rectangular Continuous Continuous Continuous Specialized software
Multivariable
Icon Plot Relationships Rectangular Continuous Continuous Specialized software
plot*
Scatter Plot: 2D Relationships Rectangular Continuous Continuous Spreadsheet software
Scatter Plot: 3D Relationships Cubic Continuous Continuous Continuous Specialized software
Surface Plot Relationships Cubic Continuous Continuous Continuous Specialized software
* (e.g., Radar Plot, Sun Chart, Star Plot, Side-by-side bar charts, Polygon Plot, Sparklines, Chernoff faces)

You Can’t Spell Chart without Art

There are competing philosophies of graphing, divided to some extent by perceptions about the
audience for a graph. The philosophy of many art directors of newspapers and magazines is to
keep the graph simple, interesting, and attractive in order to engage the reader. Look no further
than USA Today, Newsweek, or Time to see three dimensional exploded pie charts and bar
charts made of little soldier icons or dollar bills or some other cutesy graphic. In contrast,
Edward Tufte, perhaps the preeminent expert in informational graphics, espouses a philosophy
that assumes the audience is knowledgeable and interested. Graphs should provide as much
information as needed as efficiently as possible. Tufte makes many good points in his books, The
Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983, 2001), Envisioning Information (1990),
Visual Explanations (1997), and Beautiful Evidence (2006), including:

The dimension of a chart must not be greater than the dimension of the data. For
example, if you’re plotting two variables on a Cartesian (rectangular) graph, don’t add an
extra axis (dimension) for depth. It may be visually appealing but it’s scientifically
misleading.
Data must be presented in context. You shouldn’t show just part of a dataset.
Label everything you need to make sure the data are presented accurately and
meaningfully.
Maximize the data density and the data-ink ratio. Put enough data in your graph to make
it worthwhile. Eliminate everything on the chart that isn’t data or contributes to the
interpretation of the data.
 Eliminate chart junk, the unnecessary pictures, dimensionality, grid lines, fill patterns,
and other objects that clutter a graph while adding no scientific value.

Tufte believes he has the audience’s attention while the art directors believe they have to
compete for it. Then there are authors like David McCandless (www.informationisbeautiful.net)
who look at presenting data from an artistic perspective. Their graphics are truly works of art
though the graphs are based on data and aimed at engaged audiences. All of these graph
developers make valid points. They simply have different perspectives, different audiences,
different aims, and different data.

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