Data Visualization and Communication Flashcards

Which chart type is most appropriate for showing the part-to-whole composition of a single category at one point in time?

Answer: Pie chart

A pie chart shows how parts make up a whole for a single categorical breakdown.

You want to compare the distribution and outliers of salaries across five departments. Which visualization is best?

Answer: Box plot

A box plot summarizes median, quartiles, and outliers across multiple groups for easy comparison.

Which color palette is most appropriate for a diverging metric like temperature anomaly centered on zero?

Answer: Diverging two-hue palette

Diverging palettes use two contrasting hues around a meaningful midpoint to show deviation in both directions.

What is the main reason to avoid truncating the y-axis (not starting at zero) on a bar chart?

Answer: It can exaggerate differences and mislead viewers

Truncated axes on bar charts visually exaggerate small differences, misleading the audience.

Which visualization best reveals the correlation between two continuous variables across many observations?

Answer: Scatter plot

A scatter plot maps two continuous variables to axes, revealing correlation and clustering patterns.

When presenting results to a non-technical executive audience, what should you lead with?

Answer: The key takeaway and its business impact

Executives need the actionable insight and impact first, with technical detail available on request.

What does the principle of 'data-ink ratio' (Tufte) recommend?

Answer: Maximize the proportion of ink devoted to displaying actual data

Tufte advises maximizing data-ink and removing redundant chart junk that doesn't convey information.