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How to calculate max/min scales on a scatter plot?

What is the best graph to illustrate ranges in a data series?

  • I have several different data series. Let's call them A, B and C. For each series, I have 100 values. I'd like to chart these so that the viewer can see the min, median and max for each series and how they compare with each other. (Ideally, they'd be able to see each point in each series.) This is what I've been able to generate so far. I used a scatter plot (putting in fake Y values to get them to line up.) I also used a log scale so that things would be readable. I'd like to be able to highlight medians.

  • Answer:

    I like the box-and-whisker like said. But if you want more detail (e.g. fluctuations in the ranges), you might try a histogram matrix or a series of them. Kind of like this: http://flowingdata.com/2009/09/23/tv-size-over-the-past-8-years/

Nathan Yau at Quora Visit the source

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The minimum and maximum values are already visible in your graph, and for the median you could just add a small vertical line in each series. But there are some alternatives you might want to consider: A box-and-whisker plot (example from wikipedia) The thick lines in the box represent the median. The boxes visualize the interquartile range, and the hinges show the minimum and maximum value, but exclude outliers. This still doesn't show the density distribution, other graphical representations do, such as: The violin plot: Or the beanplot:

Marielle Winarto

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