We are all vulnerable to being swayed by dramatic, graphically represented sets of data and it is often hard to parse the value and the reliability of the information we are exposed to. To provide a little insight, statistician Nathan Yau (PhD in statistics from UCLA), of the website FlowingData, wrote the following short, generally focused, and recommended guide: How to Spot Visualization Lies.
An Excerpt:
“A chart doesn’t make something true. Data doesn’t make something true. It bends. It shows many things. So keep your eyes open.”
Unsure about some data visualization in particular, need a more in-depth or academic source for critiquing visual sources, or if you would like help finding your own statistics for a research project, get help from a librarian!
