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Design Data Visualization Foundations Line and Area Charts, Scatter Plots, and Maps Line and Area Charts

Posted by nicolaspeterson
nicolaspeterson
8,569 Points

Seems like it's really hard to determine what scale should be used when trying to analyze trends...

Not really a question, more of an observation. It's a given that data is often skewed or misrepresented in political contexts. But even from a purely business perspective, it must be difficult to know how to scale one's visualizations and tell a truly objective story.

1 Answer

Jason Larson
Jason Larson
8,361 Points

The problem is that you're never trying to tell a truly objective story. You are presenting facts for the purpose of supporting your (or another person's) views on a matter. (If you weren't, you wouldn't bother putting together a chart in the first place.) The real challenge is making your data objective enough that the viewer doesn't immediately disregard the validity of the report.