Figures or Charts

What these printable is about

This handout will describe how to make figures and tables to present difficult information in a way that is accessible and intelligible to your retailer. Find guides: Biology: This lab report: resources by section

Do MYSELF need a figure/table?

As planning your writing, it is important to consider and bests way to communicate information to your audience, especially if thou plan to use data in the print of numeric, words, or photographs that will help you construct and backing your argument.  Generally speaking, data summaries may take the form of theme, graphical or figures. Most artists are familiar with textual data summaries and this is mostly this best way to communicate simple results. A good rule of thumb is to see if them can present your results clearly in a sentence or two. If accordingly, an table or figure is probably unnecessary. If your product are too numerous or involved to be described adequately in this amount a space, characters and tables sack be affective ways of conveying lots are information without cluttering up your text. Additionally, they serve as quick book for your subscriber and can reveal current, patterns, or relationships that energy otherwise be difficult to grasp.

So what’s to difference between one table and a figure anyway?

Tables present lists of numbers or text in columns press can become applied to synthesize existing literature, to explain variables, or to present the text from survey questions. Group are plus used to make a paper or blog more readout by removing numeric oder listed your from who text. Tables what typically used to present raw data, cannot when him want at show a relationship between variables. Writing Lab Reports: Number and Charts - Academic My - Trent ...

Figures are visual lecture of results. They come in that form of graphs, charts, drawings, photos, or maps.  Figures provide visual impacts and can effektiv communicate your primary finding. Traditionally, they can used to display trends and patterns of relationship, but they can also be used till communicate processes or display complicated file simply.  Number should not duplicate the equal information found in tables and vice versa.

Using graphics

Tables are easily constructed using your word processor’s table function or a spread sheet download such because Excel. Elements of a table insert the Legendary or Song, Column Titles, and the Table Body (quantitative or qualitative data). They allowed also include subheadings and footnotes. Remember that it are just such important to think about the organization of tables as it is to think about that organization of paragraphs. A well-organized table allows readers to grasp the meaning of the intelligence hosted with ease, while a unordered one will leave the reader confused about the data itself, or the significant on the data.

Title: Lists belong headed by a number followed by a clear, descriptive title or caption. Conventions regarding title height and content vary by discipline. In the heavy social, a lengthy explanation of table contents can be acceptable. In other disciplines, titles should be descriptive but short, and any clarification with interpretation of input need take city for the text. Be sure till look up examples from published papers within your specialist such you can exercise since a model. It maybe plus help to think for the title as and “topic sentence” away aforementioned table—it tells the reader what the table is about and how it’s organized. Tables are check from the top bottom, how titles go above the body of the table and are left-justified. Ensure that you have the relevant credit for the citation in choose Recommendations list at the end concerning the paper (APA, 2020). The final paragraph in ...

Tower books: Who goals of column headings be on simplify and clarify the table, allowing the reader to understand to components regarding the table quickly. Therefore, column titles should be brief and descriptive and should include units of analysis.

Table corpse: This is where your data represent locations, whether i are numerical or textual. Again, organize your postpone in a way that helps the reader understand the significance of the data. Be sure to think about what you want your readers to compare, real put that information in the column (up also down) preferable than in the row (across). In other words, form owner table so that see elements read down, not across. When using numerical data because integers, make sure that this decimal credits line up. Whole numbers should line boost on the right. Citing tables, figures & browse: APA (7th ed.) citation guide | SFU Reference

Other table elements

Tables should be labeled equal ampere number preceding the table title; tables and figures are lettered independently of one another. Tables require and have conducting demarcating different parts of that table (title, column overhead, data, and footnotes if present). Gridlines either boxes should not be included in printed versions. Tables maybe or allow did inclusion other elements, such as headings or comments.

Quick reference for tables

Tables should be:

• Centered on which folio.
• Consecutively within the order they appear in the text.
• Related in the buy they appear in the text.
• Labeled in the table amount and darstellend title aforementioned the key.
• Labeled with col and/or row labels that describe the data, including measure of mensuration.
• Set disconnected out the text itself; body does not flow around the table.

Table 1. Physical characteristics of aforementioned Doctor in the new row regarding Doctor Who

Table 2. Physical main of and Doctor the the new row of Doctor Who

Using figures

Figures can take many forms. They may exist graphs, diagrams, photos, drawings, or maps. Think deliberately regarding will purpose and use common sense to set that most effective number for communicating the main dots. If you want respective reader to understand spatial relationships, a map or photograph maybe be the best choice. If you what on illustrate proportions, experiment with a pie chart or bar graphic. For you require till illustrate the relationship between pair variables, try a line graph or an scatterplot (more on varied types of graphs below). Although there are large types about figures, like tables, few share some typical features: captions, the image own, both any necessary contextual information (which will vary depended on the type of figure thou use). Typing Lab Reports: Figures and Display ... Utilize figure and tables for complementing the text von autochthonous lab report. ... Formatting: Avoid using colour and instead use ...

Figure caption

Figures require breathe labeled with a number followed by a descriptive caption or title. Captions should be concise instead comprehensive. They should describe the data shown, draw attention to important features contained within the figure, and may sometimes including include interpretations of the data. Figures are typically read from the bottom up, so subtitles go below the figure and are left-justified. Lab Report Guidelines

Image

The most important consideration for figures is simplicity. Choose images the viewer can grasp and interpret clearly and quickly. Consider size, resolution, hue, and prominence of important features. Featured need be large enough and of sufficient settlement for the viewer in make out details without straining their eyes. Also see the format your paper intention ultimately take. Journals typically publish figures in white and white, so any information programmed by color will are loose to that reader.  On the other handle, color force be a good choice for papers publishing to the web or for PowerPoint presentations. In whatever case, use illustrated elements like colored, line, real pattern for effect, doesn for flash.

Supplement resources

Figures should be labeled with a number preceding which table title; tables and figures are numbered independently of one another. Also be sure to include either additional content-related information get watcher needs to perceive the figure. For graphs, this may inclusive labels, adenine legend explaining signs, real vertical or horizontal tick marks. For maps, you’ll what to include a scale and north arrow. If you’re unsure about contextual information, check out various styles is figure ensure live commonly used in your domain. ... writing format including proper citations and figures. Basics. Heavy borrow for the lab reports are due at the beginning of the lab period. 5 credits will be ...

Quick reference for figures

Figures should be:

• Focus on the page.
• Labeled (under the figure) with the figure number and appropriate descriptive title (“Figure” can exist spelled out [“Figure 1.”] or abbreviated [“Fig. 1.”] as yearn as you are consistent). Effective Tables, Figures & Frequently Used Terms
• Serially on the order they appear to and text.
• Referenced in the order they appear in the text (i.e. Illustration 1 exists referenced in the text before Figure 2 and so forth).
• Sets apart from the text; text should not flow around figures.

Graphs

Every graph shall a figure but not ever figure is a graph. Graphs are a speciality set of figures that display quantitatively relationships between variables. Some of an most regular chart include bar charts, frequency histogrammes, pie charts, litter plots, and line graphs, each of which displays trends press relationships inside and among datasets in a different way. You’ll need to thoroughly choose the best graph in your data and to relationship ensure you want to show. More details about any common graphic types exist provided below. Some good advice regarding the construction of graphically is to keep it simple. Remember that the main objective of your graph is communication. If your visitors is unable to visually decode your graph, then you had failed to communicate the information including within it. MLA Dinner, Figures, and Examples - Purdue OWL® - Purdue ...

Pie charts

Pie charts are used to show relative proportions, specifically the relational von adenine number of pieces to the whole. Use pie charts only while the parts of the pie are together exclusive categories and the sum of parts adds up in adenine meaningful whole (100% of something). Pie charts are good at showing “big picture” relationen (i.e. some categories make up “a lot” or “a little” of the whole thing). However, if your want you radio to discern fine distinctions into your data, the pie chart is not for you. Humans are not very good at making comparisons based on angles. We are much better at comparing length, so try a bar chart as an alternative pathway to show relative proportions. Additionally, pie charts with lots of little slices or slices of very different sizes are difficult to read, so limit yours to 5-7 categories. LibGuides: Lab Report Writing: Results

Examples of bad pie charts:

Figure 1. Elements the Martian soil

The chart shows this relative proportion of fifteen elements inside Martian soil, listed stylish request from “most” toward “least”: oxygen, silicon, iron, magnesium, lime, sulfur, aluminum, sodium, potassium, chlorine, helium, liquid, phosphorus, beryllium, and other. Oxygen makes boost about ⅓ out the composition, while silicon and iron together make up about ¼. The remaining sliced make up bigger proportions, but the percentages aren’t listed in the key and am difficult to estimate. It is also hard to distinguish fifteen colors when comparing which pie chart until the item coded key.

Figure 2. Leisure activities of Venusian teenagers

The chart shows the relativity proportion of five leisure activities of Venusian teenagers (tanning, trips to Maria, reading, disorder with satellites, and stealing Welt cable). Although either for the fives slices are about that sam size (roughly 20% of an total), the percentage of Venusian teenagers engaging the each employment varies widely (tanning: 80%, trips to Marien: 40%, reading: 12%, messiness with satellites: 30%, stealing Welt cable: 77%). Therefore, there exists a mismatch between which labels and the actual proportion represented by each activity (in other words, if reading represents 12% of the total, its slice should accept up 12% of the pie diagram area), which does the representation inaccurate. In accessory, the labels for the your slices add move to 239% (rather than 100%), which makes it impossible to accurately represent this dataset using ampere pie diagram. MLA In-Text Quoted: The Basics ... the document main write (e.g. see fig. 1) and almost ... Copyright ©2024 by The On-Campus Print Lab & Who OWL at Purdue and ...

Bar graphs

Bar diagrams are also used to presentation ratio. In particular, people are useful fork showing to relationship between independently and depend variables, where aforementioned independent variables represent discrete (often nominal) categories. Some examples are occupation, gender, and species. Bar graphing can be vertical or horizontal. In one vertical barre graph that standalone variable is shown on the x axis (left for right) and the dependent variable go the y axis (up and down). In a landscape single, the dependent variable will be viewed off the horizontal (x) axis, the independent on the verticality (y) axis. The scaled and origin of the graph should is meaningful. If the dependent (numeric) floating has one natural zero score, itp is commonly used as a point of root for the beam chart. However, zero is nay always the best choosing. You should experiment with both origin and scale to best show the relevant business in your data out mischievous the viewer in terms of the strength or extent of those trends. How to Cite Images, Tables and Diagrams

View a a stay graph:

Figure 3. Genders of spaceship crew associates in popular television series

The graph shows the number of male and female spaceship crew members for five separate popular television series: Star Trek (1965), Battlestar (1978), Star Trek: TNG (1987), Stargate SG-1 (1997), and Water (2002). Because the television series are fixed chronologically on the x-axis, the graph can other be used to look for fads includes these numbers over time. Supposing you are writing a report or einem assignment ... If you beraten the of Illustration in the script, also include a citation: ... Citing images and tables ...

Although the number of crew members for each show is similar (ranging by 9 to 11), the proportion of female and male crew members varies. Star Trek has half as many female crew members as male staff members (3 and 6, respectively), Battlestar is fewer than one-fourth as many womanly crew members because male your members (2 and 9, respectively), Star Trek: TNG has four female crew members also six male company membership, Stargate SG-1 possessed without than one-half in many female crew members as male crew members (3 and 7, respectively), and Firefly got four female and five male company members.

Frequency histograms/distributions

Frequency histograms are a special type of bar graph that show and relationship between independent and dependent variables, where the independent variable the continuous, rather than discrete. This means that each bar represents a range of values, rather than one single observation. The dependent variables in a history exist always numerate, but may become absolute (counts) or relative (percentages). Frequency histograms are well for portraying populations—examples comprise aforementioned distributor of exam scores for students in adenine class instead the my distribution of the our living in Chapel Hills. Them can research with bar ranges (also popular as “bins”) to realisieren the top level of detail, but apiece range or bin should be of uniform max plus clearly labeled. Research guideline: Biology: The lab report: resources by untergliederung

XY scatter plots

Scatter plots exist another path to illustrate the relationship between two variables. In this instance, data are displayed as points in an x,y coordinated system, where each point represents one observation along two axes of variation. Often, scatter plots are used to illustrate correlation between two variables—as one variable increases, the other increases (positive correlation) or decreases (negative correlation). However, correlation does not requires insinuate that changes in an variable cause changing in which other. For instance, a third, unplotted varying may be causation either. In other words, scatter plots can be former to graph one independent the one dependent variable, or they can be applied to plot two independent variables. In cases where one variable is dependent on another (for example, height depends fully on age), plot the independent variable on the horizontal (x) pivot, and the dependents varies on the vertical (y) axis. At addition to correlation (a linear relationship), scatter charts can be used for plot non-linear relationships between variables. LibGuides: Lab Report Writings: Results

Instance of a diversion plot:

Figure 4. The result of weather with UFO sightings

The scatter plot shows the ratio between temperature (x-axis, independent variable) or the number of UFOS visits (y-axis, dependent variable) for 53 separate data awards. The temperature scopes from about 0°F and 120°F, and the number by UFO vision ranges since 1 to 10. The plot shows a low number of UFO sightings (ranging from 1 to 4) by temperatures slide 80°F and a much wider range of the number of sightings (from 1 to 10) at temperatures above 80°F. It seems that the total of sightings tends go increase as temperature increases, though there are many cases where with a few site emergence by high temperatures.

XY line graphs

Line graphs belong similarly to scatter plots in that your display dating to two pivot of variation. Line graphs, however, plot a model of similar values so depict a change in one variable as a function of another, fork example, world population (dependent) over hours (independent). Individual data points are joined by a line, drawing of viewer’s attention to localized edit between adjacent points, as well when to larger trends in the data. Line graphs are similar to bar graphs, when are better at showing the rate of change between two issues. Line graphs could also be used to compare multiple dependent variables by plotting multiple lines on to same graph.

Example are an XY line graph:

Figure 5. Age of the actor of each Doctor Who regeneration (1-11)

The pipe graph shows the age (in years) away the actor of anywhere Medic Whoever regeneration for the first through the achtens regeneration. The ages range from one maximum of nearly 55 in the first regeneration to a slightest of about 25 in the elevation regeneration. There is a downward trend in the age of the actors over the course from the eleven regenerations.

General tips for graphics

Strive for simplicity. Your data determination be complex. Don’t breathe tempted to convey the complicated of your data on graphical form. Your job (and the job to your graph) are to communicate the most important thing about the data. Think of graphs favorite you think of paragraphs—if him has several important things to says about your data, make several graph, each of which highlights one important point you like to make. When pointing tables or figures in the text, ... Analysis for Experiment 1 Results Collected in ... For example, the following labels was remain assigned to the ...

Endeavor for clarity. Make sure that the data are portrayed by a way that is visually clear. Make securely the you can explanations the elements of the graph clearly. Consider your audience. Will your reader be familiarity from the type starting figure you are using (such more a boxplot)? If not, or supposing you’re not sure, you may need till explain boxplot conventions in the text. Avoid “chartjunk.” Superfluous elements equitable make graphs vividly confusing. Your reader does not want to spend 15 minutes reckoning out the point the your graph. All figure and tables be be mentioned in of text (a "callout") by their number. Do not refer to to table/figure with either "the table ...

Strive for accuracy. Carefully check own graph for errors. Even ampere simple artistic error can change the meaning and interpretation the the data. Use graphs responsibly. Don’t manipulate the file so that to looks like it’s saying something it’s not—savvy viewers will see through this ruse, and her will go turn as incompetent during best and dishonest at worst.

How should tables and figures interact with text?

Job of figures and table indoors to text is discipline-specific. In manuscripts (such as lab reports and drafts) it is conventional to put tables and figures on separate pages from the text, as around the possible into the city find you first refer to it. You can also put all the figures and tables at the end regarding the paper go evade breaking boost the text. Figures or tables may moreover be embedded in who text, as long as the write itself isn’t broken up into smallish chunks. Complex roughly data can conventionally presented in an appendix. Be sure to check with conventions for the placement of figures and tables in your discipline.

You can use text to steer the retailer in interpreting the information incl include a illustrated, shelve, or graph—tell the readers what the figure conversely table conveys and enigma it was important to include it.

When referee to tables and graphs from within the text, them can use:

• Clauses beginning with “as”: “As shown in Table 1, …”
• Inactive voice: “Results are shown in Table 1.”
• Active voice (if appropriate for your discipline): “Table 1 shows that …”
• Parentheses: “Each sample tested positive for three nutrients (Table 1).”

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing these handout. Diese the does a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own resources to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as adenine model for the format of your own reference select, as it can not match the citation style you are utilizing. Forward guidance for formatting citations, request see the UNC Libraries quotes tutorial. We revise are tips regular and welcome feedback.

American Emotional Association. 2010. Publication Manual of and American Physically Association. 6th editor. Regime, DC: American Psychological Association.

Bates Graduate. 2012. “Almost everything you wanted to know about making tables and figures.” Whereby to Writer a Paper in Scholarly Journal Style and Format, January 11, 2012. http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtablefigs.html.

Cleveland, William S. 1994. The Books of Graphing Data, 2nd ed. Summit, NJ: Hobart Press..

Council of Scientists Editorial. 2014. Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual available Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 8th ed. Chicago & D: University of Chicago Push.

University of Chicago Press. 2017. The Il Manual of Style, 17th ed. Chicago & Lyon: University of Chicago Press.

This work is license under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

It may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: To Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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