![]() Graphs are not the only form of visualized data, however – maps, satellite imagery, animations, and more specialized images like atomic orbital depictions are also composed of data, and have also become more common. This increase has been attributed to a number of causes, including the use of computer software programs that make producing graphs easy, as well as the production of increasingly large and complex datasets that require visualization to be interpreted. Graphs and figures quickly became standard components of science and scientific communication, and the use of graphs has increased dramatically in scientific journals in recent years, almost doubling from an average of 35 graphs per journal issue to more than 60 between 19 (Zacks et al., 2002). Although a table of numerical data would show the same information, it would not be immediately apparent that something important happened in about 1753: England began exporting more than it imported, placing the "balance in favour of England." This simple visualization of a large numerical dataset made it easy to comprehend quickly. ![]() The yellow line shows the monetary value of imports to England from Denmark and Norway the red line shows the monetary value of exports to Denmark and Norway from England. The graph shows time on the horizontal (x) axis and money in English pounds on the vertical (y) axis. Playfair's graph displayed a powerful message very succinctly. To learn more, see our module The Rock Cycle: Uniformitarianism and Recycling.) Figure 1: William Playfair's graph was one of the first examples of the visual representation of numerical data. (Incidentally, William Playfair was the brother of John Playfair, the geologist who elucidated James Hutton's fundamental work on geological processes to the broader public. Among these was the image shown in Figure 1, a graph comparing exports from England with imports into England from Denmark and Norway from 1708 to 1780 (Playfair, 1786). In 1786, William Playfair, a Scottish economist, published The Commercial and Political Atlas, which contained a variety of economic statistics presented in graphs. Visual representations of scientific data have been used for centuries – in the 1500s, for example, Copernicus drew schematic sketches of planetary orbits around the sun – but the visual presentation of numerical data in the form of graphs is a more recent development. Scientists in different fields collect data in many different forms, from the magnitude and location of earthquakes, to the length of finch beaks, to the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and so on. Although numerical data are initially compiled in tables or databases, they are often displayed in a graphic form to help scientists visualize and interpret the variation, patterns, and trends within the data.ĭata lie at the heart of any scientific endeavor. In some journals, as much as 30% of the space is taken up by graphs (Cleveland, 1984), perhaps surpassing the adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Although many magazines and newspapers also include graphs, the visual depiction of data is fundamental to science and represents something very different from the photographs and illustrations published in magazines and newspapers. Understanding Scientific Journals and Articlesįlip through any scientific journal or textbook and you'll notice quickly that the text is interspersed with graphs and figures.Using Graphs and Visual Data in Science.Scientists and the Scientific Community.Scientific Notation and Order of Magnitude.The Case of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi.Factors that Control Earth's Temperature.Plates, Plate Boundaries, and Driving Forces.Solutions, Solubility, and Colligative Properties.Y-Chromsome and Mitochondrial DNA Haplotypes.Absorption, Distribution, and Storage of Chemicals.
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