Welcome to the Web tutorial on graphs and tables

This tutorial is best viewed with Netscape 2.x or greater.

The WWW has been chosen for this particular topic since a lecture on this topic is easy to forget. Therefore I shall begin by discussing the significance of charts and show you real life examples from actual reports.

Charts are absolutely necessary to good scientific report writing. They should normally be found in the body of the report, under the Results section. Tables and graphs are your summaries of the data which you have collected and are now displaying for your reader. Charts have been used to display quantitative information for at least the past 200 years.

Here are some important ideas to keep in mind:

• Charts show data, i.e. numbers;
  
• They induce the reader to think about the substance of your topic, not the method by which you collected data;
  
• Charts should be transparent, without added distortions. Here is an example of a graph which uses distortion;
  
• Charts make large data sets understandable;
  
• They encourage the eye of the reader;
  
• Charts can reveal data at several levels of analysis, from overviews to fine details;
  
• Charts need a clear and definite purpose - either description, exploration, summation or decoration;
  
• Charts must be integrated with the text and with statistical information.

There are 4 main types of graphs:

1. Data maps
   
2. Time series
   
3. Narrative graphs (these do not really concern us)
   
4. Relational graphs

The 5 principles of graphical excellence are:

1. Organisation: substance, statistics and graphical format need careful planning. Any old graph will not do!

2. Elegance: equals the greatest number of ideas in the smallest amount of ink, in the smallest amount of space;

3. Clarity: good charts convey complex information clearly, precisely and efficiently;

4. Multidimensionality: good charts show a multivariate view;

5. Truthfulness: charts should tell the truth, without resorting to tricks of distortion.

Please click on this link which shows some of the tricks of the trade

Here are a couple of final graphs

Have fun, and don't forget to do the short test.

Ray Archee Aug, 1999