Thinking critically about data displays

The quality of a data display can have an impact on the interpretation of those data. A survey of the literature indicates that data displays can vary in quality of accuracy, clarity, and efficacy. In this study we develop and apply an evaluative rubric to graphs in a sample of six education journal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of visual literacy Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 41 - 54
Main Authors Duesbery, Luke, Braun-Monegan, Jenelle, Liu, Kimy, McCoy, Jan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 02.01.2017
Subjects
Accuracy
Data
data displays
Data graphics
Data Interpretation
Educational Research
graphs
Information Science
Periodicals
research to practice
research use
Scoring Rubrics
specifiers
Theory Practice Relationship
Visual Aids
Visual Literacy
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Summary:The quality of a data display can have an impact on the interpretation of those data. A survey of the literature indicates that data displays can vary in quality of accuracy, clarity, and efficacy. In this study we develop and apply an evaluative rubric to graphs in a sample of six education journals: three research and three practitioner. Results indicate that graph quality is typically high in educational journals, however, in practitioner oriented journals issues around graph clarity and efficacy should be addressed. Common error patterns are pinpointed, and four recommendations are made to authors and editors: focus on meaningful labels, increase amount of data displayed, portray multiple relationships, and elaborate with supporting text.
ISSN:1051-144X
2379-6529
DOI:10.1080/1051144X.2017.1331681