3 - Graphical Presentation of Data

Summary

Graphs are a powerful and concise way to communicate information. Representing data from an experiment in the form of an x-y graph allows relationships to be examined, scatter in data to be assessed and allows for the rapid identification of special or unusual features. A well laid out graph containing all the components discussed in this chapter can act as a 'one stop' summary of a whole experiment. Someone studying an account of an experiment will often examine the graph(s) included in the account first to gain an overall picture of the outcome of an experiment. The importance of graphs, therefore, cannot be overstated as they so often play a central role in the communication of the key findings of an experiment. This chapter contains many examples of graphs and includes exercises and end of chapter problems which reinforce the graph-plotting principles.