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The Elements of Graphing Data
Visualization methods in science and
technology. Many new ideas and methods;
many not widely known before. Excellent
methodological resource for research
workers.
technology. Many new ideas and methods;
many not widely known before. Excellent
methodological resource for research
workers.
Hardcover
First published August 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 11, 2018
TODO full review:
+ Classic in information visualization, next to Edward R. Tufte's The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Has not aged as well as Edward R. Tufte's book.
+ Good coverage of basic graphs for univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis. Each graph type is explained with examples, and the math behind it is elaborated and again linked to the examples.
+++ The author presents common pitfalls with plotting different types of graphs (often with examples from Science and Nature), then proceeds to explain how to avoid them.
--- Some of the ideas are not valid anymore: the role of the value 0 on the linear axis for the response value, seem to have been adjudicated by the community against William S. Cleveland's statement it's ok to start at non-zero values (without proper warning); the role of long captions explaining in detail the content of the graph (motivated by the 1980s printing technology, which could make thin details disappear); the possible role of computers
+ Classic in information visualization, next to Edward R. Tufte's The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Has not aged as well as Edward R. Tufte's book.
+ Good coverage of basic graphs for univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis. Each graph type is explained with examples, and the math behind it is elaborated and again linked to the examples.
+++ The author presents common pitfalls with plotting different types of graphs (often with examples from Science and Nature), then proceeds to explain how to avoid them.
--- Some of the ideas are not valid anymore: the role of the value 0 on the linear axis for the response value, seem to have been adjudicated by the community against William S. Cleveland's statement it's ok to start at non-zero values (without proper warning); the role of long captions explaining in detail the content of the graph (motivated by the 1980s printing technology, which could make thin details disappear); the possible role of computers
January 23, 2018
My supervisor made me read this, lol.
Useful and filled with great, practical examples. I think he is a bit too doctrinaire in applying his perceptual theories, based on a relatively small pool of evidence. The book shows its age in the limited exploration of 3D technologies and even of colour-printed 2D plots, since both of these options were prohibitively expensive at the time of first publication.
Still, a good book for anybody in the business of plotting things who has an interest in not making silly mistakes.
Useful and filled with great, practical examples. I think he is a bit too doctrinaire in applying his perceptual theories, based on a relatively small pool of evidence. The book shows its age in the limited exploration of 3D technologies and even of colour-printed 2D plots, since both of these options were prohibitively expensive at the time of first publication.
Still, a good book for anybody in the business of plotting things who has an interest in not making silly mistakes.
February 25, 2017
Covers much of the same ground as Stephen Few's books, but is more scientifically rigorous. It's also not as glossy as Few's books, but it does include a few color pages. Of course, due to its age, Elements of Graphing Data doesn't include any research from after the mid-1980s.
It is somewhat depressing that there has been so little progress in the field that advice published today doesn't differ significantly from advice published nearly forty years ago. But it is even more depressing that the advice still isn't followed.
It is somewhat depressing that there has been so little progress in the field that advice published today doesn't differ significantly from advice published nearly forty years ago. But it is even more depressing that the advice still isn't followed.
July 25, 2012
William Cleveland's classic on the art and science of graphing data. Compare to the more well known series from Edward Tufte, Cleveland's book is more academic and more focus on statistics.
The first two part of the book focus on best practices and different method to plot different category of data. You will no doubt find them useful. The third part is on the fundamentals. Constructing chart is considered as encoding the data in graphics format and the graphical perception is consider as the decoding process. By studying the perception process scientifically we learn why some charting method, like those than involve position and length judgment, is more accurate than other method that base on area, volume or shading judgment.
This is a must read for those who what to use data graphics effectively.
The first two part of the book focus on best practices and different method to plot different category of data. You will no doubt find them useful. The third part is on the fundamentals. Constructing chart is considered as encoding the data in graphics format and the graphical perception is consider as the decoding process. By studying the perception process scientifically we learn why some charting method, like those than involve position and length judgment, is more accurate than other method that base on area, volume or shading judgment.
This is a must read for those who what to use data graphics effectively.
October 5, 2015
Black and white data viz book when the world has moved to color. Interesting to see how you have to adjust your technique when you can barely use shades of gray.
This is an old book that has nearly been made outdated by Few and Tufte. There are some vizzes in here that aren't popular any more (like quantiles), so it's good to read just for the history.
This is an old book that has nearly been made outdated by Few and Tufte. There are some vizzes in here that aren't popular any more (like quantiles), so it's good to read just for the history.
June 18, 2016
Nice _overview_ on some of the theory behind effective data viz. I expected a bit more substance though. Good analysis of *what* works, not enough of *why* it works. Obviously, his papers provide a better resource of that angle.
reference-only
March 20, 2021This book has lots of great ideas and tips for creating graphs. I prefer it over the books by Tufte. Note that there is a newer edition of this book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews