Courses/Behavioral Research: Statistical Methods

Behavioral Research: Statistical Methods

CG3.402

Vinoo Alluri•Monsoon 2025-26•4 credits

Revision Notes/Unit 4 — Data Visualization

Unit 4 — Data Visualization

Why visualise before you analyse (Anscombe's quartet), matching plots to data types, and the catalogue of plots: histogram, boxplot, scatter, bar/pie, mosaic, violin/raindrop, heatmap — plus pitfalls (rainbow palettes, truncated axes, dual-y).

Plots, Matching, and Common Pitfalls

11 min

Before you compute anything, **plot the data**. *Anscombe's quartet* (four datasets with identical mean / SD / r / regression line but wildly different scatter shapes) is the manifesto: statistics compress data; visualisations reveal structure. Match plots to scales of the variables (bar for categorical, scatter for continuous-continuous, histogram / boxplot / violin for distributions), and avoid the cosmetic traps (truncated axes, rainbow colormaps, 3D pie, dual-y) that mislead viewers.