http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Charts-and-Graphs A listing of the most recently indexed works about Charts and Graphs in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Charts-and-Graphs http://tc.eserver.org/35560.html http://tc.eserver.org/35560.html New research shows that highly embellished graphs and charts may actually help people understand data more effectively than traditional graphs. http://tc.eserver.org/35561.html http://tc.eserver.org/35561.html It looks like the opening (quoted above) overreaches what the study actually does. The research only looks at backgrounds, but “chart junk” comes in many other forms: pointless 3-D effects, crazy colour schemes, excessive gridlines, cutesy cartoons, and more. The summary of this research in no way provides a scientific basis to argue, “I like the 3-D effect, and science supports it’s easier to read!” http://tc.eserver.org/35273.html http://tc.eserver.org/35273.html In 2009 we are in the midst of an interesting era for data visualization, particularly as it becomes coupled with the social web. Increasing processing speed, bandwidth and storage capacity are making it relatively simple to render and access visual representations of data. Developers have released libraries of code so we can easily create our own visualizations; and access to all kinds of data is becoming incredibly standardized, particularly through the use of APIs. So as visualization becomes much more straightforward to integrate into online environments, it makes sense to rethink how it can best be used in this setting. http://tc.eserver.org/35274.html http://tc.eserver.org/35274.html Swivel's mission is to make data useful. Compare data from multiple sources. Sort and filter data according to simple criteria. Map geographical data. Plot pie, bar, scatter and line graphs. Download data into a spreadsheet for analysis. http://tc.eserver.org/34189.html http://tc.eserver.org/34189.html Have you ever even tried to create your own CSS graph? If you have, you will know how hard it is. Using Flash is one way to go, but you just can’t beat a beautifully crafted CSS Graph. Have a look at these tutorials and techniques. http://tc.eserver.org/34155.html http://tc.eserver.org/34155.html Producing effective charts is essential to any document that conveys technical, scientific, or financial data. Here are four suggestions to ensure that your charts are effective and enhance rather than detract from your document. http://tc.eserver.org/32917.html http://tc.eserver.org/32917.html When images are provided to illustrate complex ideas, the same information MUST also be provided in an accessible form. http://tc.eserver.org/32922.html http://tc.eserver.org/32922.html The affinity diagram, or KJ method (after its author, Kawakita Jiro), wasn't originally intended for quality management. Nonetheless, it has become one of the most widely used of the Japanese management and planning tools. The affinity diagram was developed to discovering meaningful groups of ideas within a raw list. In doing so, it is important to let the groupings emerge naturally, using the right side of the brain, rather than according to preordained categories. http://tc.eserver.org/32923.html http://tc.eserver.org/32923.html In design, our resources are limited. Priorities become a necessity. We need to ensure we are working on the most important parts of the problem. How do we assess what is most important? http://tc.eserver.org/32924.html http://tc.eserver.org/32924.html Affinity Diagramming is a very simple but powerful technique for grouping and understanding information. In particular, affinity diagramming provides a good way to identify and analyze issues. There are several variations of the technique. http://tc.eserver.org/31431.html http://tc.eserver.org/31431.html Professional communicators and attorneys have long stood side by side as both fought to win in court—one in the court of law, the other in the court of public opinion. These two sometimes wary compatriots, however, are now beginning to partner more frequently to garner the best results for the executive suite. http://tc.eserver.org/31101.html http://tc.eserver.org/31101.html When designing interfaces for browsing data-driven sites, creating navigation elements that are also visualization tools helps the user make better decisions. Wilson Miner demonstrates three techniques for incorporating data visualization into standards-based navigation patterns. http://tc.eserver.org/30850.html http://tc.eserver.org/30850.html Charts and graphs are ubiquitous in business documents, and most students in my business communication courses are well aware that they need to be able to create many different types of data representation. Most of them have had a great deal of experience working with spreadsheet applications, and they know how to manipulate data and present it in the various forms permitted by their software. http://tc.eserver.org/30547.html http://tc.eserver.org/30547.html 'Flowcharts-- UGH!' That's a too-typical reader reaction when faced with the average flowchart. It underscores the author's challenge when trying to develop this potentially powerful tool. For conveying process, there is no better means. In proposals, however, where the flowchart must also serve as a sales tool, its optimum form is not always clear. This paper provides some guidelines, such as: Ensuring your flow is a process of merit. Letting goals dictate form. Organizing for readability. Focusing on action. Using simple, standard visuals. Illuminating features. And obviating responsiveness... To reap the winning rewards. http://tc.eserver.org/30169.html http://tc.eserver.org/30169.html Diverse work situations and varied skills, abilities, and motivation affect how users handle documentation to do their jobs. Communicating graphically challenges the communicator to 1) select illustrations that orient users ana' 2) use dynamic arrows to show the motion required. The communicator then 3) shows the order of steps within a task by using numbers with 'numberness.' Users' eyes seek information dynamically: help them find needed i$ormation by 4) keeping tasks within eyespan on a page. Then 5) use a grid to consistently layout an interesting page. http://tc.eserver.org/29335.html http://tc.eserver.org/29335.html Tufte shares Orwell's impatience with doublethink and humbuggery, his insight that bad thinking and bad expression travel in a pair, and his awareness that they are usually deployed in the service of some brand of propaganda. http://tc.eserver.org/29334.html http://tc.eserver.org/29334.html Graphs and semigraphic displays are made for purposes. Different purposes usually call for different graphs. http://tc.eserver.org/29270.html http://tc.eserver.org/29270.html Affinity diagramming is a categorization method where users sort various concepts into several categories. This method is used by a team to organize a large amount of data according to the natural relationships between the items. http://tc.eserver.org/29052.html http://tc.eserver.org/29052.html This paper is a critique of current approaches to the development of computer graphing and graph visualization programs. Developers of these programs model the user as an individual problem solver who is reliant on perceptual skills to create and interpret graphed information. Such a model of graphing is ill-suited to meet the complex needs of real users, a supposition that is supported by work in two major areas of graphing theory and research: the sociology of science and the educational research of mathematics and scientific students. These areas have not been traditionally cited when planning computer graphing or visualization programs or when assessing their usability. A review of the literature in these fields reveals that an over-reliance on a user's perceptual skills is unlikely to result in successful graph practices. http://tc.eserver.org/28546.html http://tc.eserver.org/28546.html This tutorial presents a brief overview of the process of preparing charts and graphs using a spreadsheet program. It introduces you to important design principles to consider as you prepare your charts and graphs and helps you analyze their design. http://tc.eserver.org/26154.html http://tc.eserver.org/26154.html Most government web writers are knowledgeable about alt-text by now... or at least semi-knowledgeable. But sometimes, alt-text is not enough. http://tc.eserver.org/26127.html http://tc.eserver.org/26127.html A government organisation in New Zealand wants to create standards for graphs, especially online graphs. Until now, we haven't been able to find any existing standards, so we will have to start from scratch. http://tc.eserver.org/25159.html http://tc.eserver.org/25159.html Knowledge to help prepare professional time elements. http://tc.eserver.org/24975.html http://tc.eserver.org/24975.html This discussion offers participants an overview of what process and procedure flowchorting is in the technical communication's universe of charting. The discussion distinguishes between information for “process” verses “procedure” and from other types of information. The discussion presents standards for using basic symbols and assembling them for effective and efficient communication design. The discussion presents various styles and formats for presenting process and procedures flowcharts, along with tools and techniques for creating and using flowcharts. http://tc.eserver.org/24253.html http://tc.eserver.org/24253.html The Wigner distribution provides a visual display of quantitative information about how a signal’s energy is distributed in both time and frequency. Through its low-order moments the Wigner distribution embodies the fundamentally important concepts of both Fourier analysis and time-domain analysis. Signal energy is distributed in such a way that specific frequencies are localized in time by the group delay time (from classical filter theory) and at specific instants in time the frequency is given by the instantaneous frequency (from classical modulation theory). The energy spectrum (energy per frequency) and instantaneous power (energy per time) are specified by the zero-order moments of the distribution. The net positive volume of the Wigner distribution is numerically equal to the signal’s total energy. While the theoretical underpinnings of the Wigner distribution are mathematically elegant and do merit in-depth study, a substantial amount of practical insight, understanding and interpretive skill can be gained by carefully examining a wide variety of computed Wigner distributions such as those of the audio signals presented in this brief report. http://tc.eserver.org/24239.html http://tc.eserver.org/24239.html Many of the graphical constructions we see in the media and learned in school have severe perceptual problems. Newer and better methods are available based on research and experimentation in human perception. However, these newer methods are often hidden in the scientific literature. Software packages for graphical displays can add to the problem since their defaults often emphasize their technological know-how rather than the accurate display of data. In addition, graphic designers and artists are not necessarily trained in statistics. Recognizing that these problems exist is the key to solving them. The references provide guidance for effective data displays. http://tc.eserver.org/23694.html http://tc.eserver.org/23694.html Most technical writers use much more care in choosing words than in presenting numbers. The writer who presents numbers poorly loses credibility. Poorly presented numbers also cause reader misunderstanding that leads to poor decisions. http://tc.eserver.org/23679.html http://tc.eserver.org/23679.html Using evenly spaced tick marks to represent different time intervals is a common error which has been repeated several times in recent STC publications and presentations. http://tc.eserver.org/23537.html http://tc.eserver.org/23537.html General guidelines for illustrative figures in technical reports. http://tc.eserver.org/23150.html http://tc.eserver.org/23150.html Reviewing and suggesting changes to tables and charts are important responsibilities of editors. Improvements a knowledgeable editor might suggest include the following: revising table titles, selecting the best table design, converting landscape to portrait orientation, adopting a more effective style, choosing the right chart form, and guarding against misleading charts. Editors who have had little training or experience in this area will benefit from attending specific courses and studying the texts listed in the bibliography. http://tc.eserver.org/23089.html http://tc.eserver.org/23089.html Discusses the results of a study comparing several formats for displaying data in tables. http://tc.eserver.org/23021.html http://tc.eserver.org/23021.html Using Photoshop, Illustrator, and Freehand to create better charts, graphs, technical diagrams. http://tc.eserver.org/22007.html http://tc.eserver.org/22007.html El proyecto genoma humano (PGH) genera un volumen de información inabordable sin el uso de medios sofisticados para su tratamiento. La visualización de información tiene aquí un gran campo de aplicación. http://tc.eserver.org/22003.html http://tc.eserver.org/22003.html Los mapas conceptuales son instrumentos de representación del conocimiento sencillos y prácticos, que permiten transmitir con claridad mensajes conceptuales complejos y facilitar tanto el aprendizaje como la enseñanza. Para mayor abundamiento, adoptan la forma de grafos. http://tc.eserver.org/21814.html http://tc.eserver.org/21814.html The Recommendations for Chart and Graphic comprise guidelines for the use of charts, graphics, images, colors and text. http://tc.eserver.org/21659.html http://tc.eserver.org/21659.html Los buenos gráficos son los que no se notan, los que soportan y enseñan los datos sin interferir con ellos. Repasamos algunas de las reglas para hacer mal un gráfico. http://tc.eserver.org/21660.html http://tc.eserver.org/21660.html No siempre un gráfico es el elemento más ilustrativo. Las frases escritas, las tablas y los gráficos tienen su propio lugar en el discurso de la construcción de la claridad y el entendimiento.  http://tc.eserver.org/21185.html http://tc.eserver.org/21185.html A hypothetical example to help technical communicators think through ethical issues in the workplace. http://tc.eserver.org/20670.html http://tc.eserver.org/20670.html The InfoGraphics mailing list is a forum for anybody who is interested in the design of diagrams, maps and charts. http://tc.eserver.org/13762.html http://tc.eserver.org/13762.html When it comes to graphing data, most professionals show little method or creativity. They typically limit themselves to a small repertoire of graph types and select from it on the basis of habit, if not sheer ease of production. Similarly, the many books on graphing devote much attention to graphical integrity and readability, but little or none to graph selection. We developed a methodology to help engineers, scientists, and managers choose the “right graph” on the basis of three criteria: the structure of the data set in terms of number and type of variables, the intended use of the graph, and the research question or intended message. The first and third criteria allow one to construct an effective two-entry selection table. http://tc.eserver.org/13688.html http://tc.eserver.org/13688.html Trellis display is a framework for visualizing multivariate data. The outcomes collected during an early agricultural experiment on the yields of barley are displayed using Trellis, which in the case study discussed revealed an anomaly in the data which was overlooked during many conventional statistical analyses of these data. http://tc.eserver.org/13204.html http://tc.eserver.org/13204.html Data flow diagrams (DFDs) reveal relationships among and between the various components in a program or system. http://tc.eserver.org/10358.html http://tc.eserver.org/10358.html Standards for designing data displays—for example, bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts, scatter plots—can be classified into four types: Conventional—emphasis on imitating generic forms that meet readers’ expectations. Perceptual—emphasis on optimizing reader behavior in accessing data visually. Informational—emphasis on transferring information clearly and concisely from designer to reader. Aesthetic—emphasis on taste, cultural values, and expressive elements. While each of these standards has merit, and some overlap occurs among them, they often conflict with each other, leaving the information designer in a quandary as to which standard to follow. Designers can resolve this dilemma by allowing the rhetorical situation—the readers of the display, its purpose, the context in which they use it—to guide the design process, telling designers when to follow, blend, or flout the standards.