Data visualization

Data visualization can be an effective way to get the 3 or 4 messages of your manuscript across very quickly. Owing to this though, data visualizations can be very tough to do well, and you can spend a lot of time messing with the small details.

In general, try and keep things simple - what is the easiest and most convincing way to make your point?

Tables are really tough - when you have a table in mind, think in columns (most journals have 2-3 columns per page), and look at what the journal does in their previous publications

For figures, some guidance from Dr. Matthew Kay at the University of Michigan:

• Locality
• Order
• Layering
• Grids and synchronized axes
• Obey the pen
• Treat visual attributes like adjectives
• Color

For plotting in R:

• Color palettes for various needs, including black/white printing and color blindness: link
• Another color palette called visibly
• Color Brewer: discrete color palettes
• The R Graph Gallery: thanks MS!
• Colorblindness testing: https://colororacle.org/

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