EFFECTIVE DATA
PRESENTATION
MAKING FIGURES
AND TABLES
“Graphic Excellence is that which gives to the
viewer the greatest number of ideas in the
shortest time with the least ink in the smallest
place.”
Edward R. Tufte
Guidelines
• Simplify message without falsifying data
• Generally need either graph or table
• Present with clarity and brevity
•What types of data presentation formats do
you know?
•How are they different?
Data Presentation Formats
• Tables
✓Specific data
✓Exact comparisons between data points
• Bar Charts
✓Less numerically specific
✓Examine differences rather than trends/changes
✓Comparisons of size, magnitude, amounts
• Line Graphs
✓Not numerically specific
✓Demonstrate movement, change, trends
✓Generally over time or concentration
Using a Table
• Should be able to stand on its own
• Show data, and possible manipulations
✓Percentages, totals, means, averages, ratios, etc.
✓Columns contain Ind. Variables (which was manipulated)
Good Table
• Legend- complete
• Stands on own
• Note capitalization
• Period after "Table 2"
• Units included
• Legend above the table;
• Note clarifying footnote
• Lines of demarcation
separate numerical data
from text.
• Gridlines not present
More on Tables
• Limit total items/columns
• But more than than 6-8 data points
• No vertical lines
• Do not overload with headings
• Use captions/footnotes for definitions
• Strings of “0’s” or unchanging data might not be
included
• Use restraint with decimal places
• Obvious abbreviations can be included
• Don’t repeat data in text, just call attention to main
points
Preparing a Table
• Examine style sheet and examples
• One table, one page, double spaced
• Use Arabic numerals to number
• Group so that comparisons run down column
• Logically group data to stress baseline and trends
• Round off numbers and align decimals
• Create a descriptive caption (no verb required)
• Use head- or foot-notes to explain abbreviations
• Verify all data
• Verify accuracy of use of symbols
• Use consistent labeling throughout paper
• Proofread carefully
Tables in a Poster/Presentation
• Time limitations- make more simple
• Utilize color, shapes, to emphasize
• Symbols are okay
Actually Making a Table
• Use publisher’s recommendations
• Can use Word or Excel (I like Word)
Figures
• Illustrations • Line graphs
• Photographs • Bar graphs
• Drawings • Pie charts
• Flowcharts • Maps
Figures
• Designed to add understanding of information that
it difficult to convey with words
• Must be clear, accurate, appropriate
• Avoid mere decoration
• Need a legend
Parts of a Graph (line)
Line Graphs
• Should have two axes
• Y changes as a function of X
• Should show data collected at
regular intervals (show trends)
• Make curves most bold
• Don’t vary line patterns, vary
symbols (color on
slides/posters)
• Plot the length of intervals so
that slopes are not too steep.
Bar Charts
• One measurable axis
• Interval doesn’t matter
• Make bars wider than the
spaces between them.
• Use color only in
slides/posters. Use
conservative patterns for
publication.
• Show significant differences
by letter or asterisk above
bars.
Scatter Plots
• Examines individual
score on two variables.
• Show relationship
• Independent Variable
on X (“as a function of”)
Recommendations for Figures
• Read publishers recommendations regarding size,
color, format!
• Is it needed?
• Do not have a title
• Can it be understood at a glance?
• Limit curves (3-5) or bars (6-8; 9-10 grouped)
• Plot independent variable on X (time,
concentration), dependent on Y (what happened?)
• Avoid wasted space; legend on field
Recommendations
• Label axes and show units of measure. Use tics
and subtics, to not crowd with numbers
• Position, size, shape, length, symbols, angle,
color: all are cues. Use when appropriate, and
avoid misuse.
• Start scales at “0,” unless you make it clear (tic
marks) that you are doing otherwise.
• For a journal, type caption on a separate page so
that the figure can be photographed and the type
set separately.
Figure Legends
• Must accompany Figures.
• Should give pertinent, clarifying information
✓key to abbreviations
✓sample size
✓statistical results
✓a brief description of how the data were acquired
• Should allow Table/Figure to stand alone
• In the legend, both “Table” and “Figure” are
spelled out completely
How to refer to a Table/Figure
• Every table/figure must be referred to in the text
• It is best to refer to them in parenthesis:
✓Germination rates were significantly higher after 24 hr
water soak than in the control (Fig. 1) .
✓DNA sequence homologies for the purple gene from
the four congeners (Table 1) show a strong similarity,
differing at most by 4 base pairs.
✓Note: Fig., here is abbreviated. Not on headings,
though.
• Avoid sentences that only direct you to the table:
✓Table 1 shows the summary results for male and
female height at Bates College.
A little more Info…
• Figures and Tables are numbered independently,
in the sequence in which they are referred.
• In a thesis or class paper, place them as near
where you refer to them as possible
• For manuscripts, follow publisher’s directions
(historically, legends were are on a separate page)
