Statistical Analysis Stack Exchange
Statistical Analysis Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [data-visualization]

Constructing and interpreting meaningful and useful graphical representations of data. (If your question is only about how to get particular software to produce a specific effect, then it is likely not on topic here.)

Overview

Data visualization refers to techniques for presenting results in graphical form, such as histograms, scatterplots, or boxplots. Data visualization is a special challenge for data with high dimensionality.

If your question is only about how to get particular software to produce a specific effect, then it is likely not on topic here. Programming questions (for example, in Python, or in R with ggplot, etc.) for which you can supply a reproducible example are usually welcomed on StackOverflow.

References

The following question contains references to data visualization resources:

3068 questions
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11 answers

"Best" series of colors to use for differentiating series in publication-quality plots

Has any study been done on what are the best set of colors to use for showing multiple series on the same plot? I've just been using the defaults in matplotlib, and they look a little childish since they're all bright, primary colors.
Daisy Sophia Hollman
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57
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1 answer

How to determine whether or not the y-axis of a graph should start at zero?

One common way to "lie with data" is to use a y-axis scale that makes it seem as if changes are more significant than they really are. When I review scientific publications, or students' lab reports, I am often frustrated by this "data visualization…
ff524
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47
votes
6 answers

What is your favorite statistical graph?

This is a favorite of mine This example is in a humorous vein (credit goes to a former professor of mine, Steven Gortmaker), but I am also interested in graphs that you feel beautifully capture and communicate a statistical insight or method, along…
Alexis
  • 29,850
46
votes
10 answers

How to plot trends properly

I am creating a graph to show trends in death rates (per 1000 ppl.) in different countries and the story that should come from the plot is that Germany (light blue line) is the only one whose trend is increasing after 1932. This is my first (basic)…
PhDing
  • 3,069
40
votes
4 answers

Why use colormap viridis over jet?

As announced in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAoljeRJ3lU, Matplotlib changes the default colormap from jet to viridis. However, I don't understand it pretty well. Maybe because I'm color blind? The original colormap jet looks very strong, I can…
ZK Zhao
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37
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4 answers

Experimental evidence supporting Tufte-style visualizations?

Q: Does there exist experimental evidence supporting Tufte-style, minimalist, data-speak visualizations over the chart-junked visualizations of, say, Nigel Holmes? I asked how to add chart-junk to R plots here and responders threw a hefty amount of…
lowndrul
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26
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6 answers

Is there a "hello, world" for statistical graphics?

In computer programming, there is a classic first program for learning/teaching a new language or system, called "hello, world". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_world_program Is there a classic first data visualization for using a graphing…
Abraham D Flaxman
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25
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5 answers

What is this type of circular-link visualization called?

Does this type of chart have a name? More importantly, is there any visualization library I can use to produce it? http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/12/15/us/politics/DEBATE.html
raegtin
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20
votes
4 answers

If gauge charts are bad, why do cars have gauges?

It seems like data visualization experts generally disapprove of gauge charts (see here: What do you call a chart that looks like a half pie chart with a needle indicating a percentage?). The primary reason is that a gauge chart has a low…
Mark E. Haase
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20
votes
10 answers

Resources for learning to create data visualizations?

I'm interested in learning how to create the type of visualizations you see at http://flowingdata.com and informationisbeautiful. EDIT: Meaning, visualizations that are interesting in of themselves -- kinda like the NY Times graphics, as opposed to…
raegtin
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19
votes
2 answers

Most effective use of colour in heat/contour maps

It's quite common to use heat/contour maps when presenting time-frequency EEG findings. The colour scheme often chosen (and one that I like and use) is the "jet" colour scheme (see e.g., google image search time-frequency EEG). I'm wondering if…
Matt Albrecht
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19
votes
8 answers

What are essential rules for designing and producing plots?

Background: Previously on Cross Validated, we have had questions on: What is best practice when preparing plots? What are good tips available online for plotting two numeric variables? It was suggested by @david in the comments to this question…
Jeromy Anglim
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18
votes
9 answers

A gallery of charts, diagrams, and plot types

What would you recommend as a comprehensive gallery of data presentation techniques? A source that could be used to refer to while you're thinking about better ways of presenting your data? I've identified the following ones, but will be glad if you…
Anton Tarasenko
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18
votes
2 answers

Is there a style guide for statistical graphs intended for presentations?

I'm looking for advice/resources/recommendations on how to best format graphs for presentations. From experience, I know that a graph produced for print publication doesn't "scale" very well when one displays it with a beamer. The text is often too…
lindelof
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17
votes
7 answers

What is the easiest way to create publication-quality plots under Linux?

We may assume that we have CSV file and we want a very basic line plot with several lines on one plot and a simple legend.
Łukasz Lew
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