Graphs misleading

Particular care should be taken with graphs and tables to ensure that they do not mislead, for example by their incompletness or by the use of suppressed zeros or unusual scales. Differences which do not reach statistical significance must not be presented in such a way as to mislead. 

The proof, as I understood it in 1972, can be found in Sections 2.3-2.6 of my book with V. I. Yukalov [1], which contains a misleading although minor error in Eq. (2.47). This mistake was corrected in 2002 in the paper [2], which also throws exciting light on the application of the RDM approach to the theory of condensed matter and to the complex geometry of the graph of the equation... 

Figure 1 A diagrammatic view of how the extent of dissolution impacts the percent calcite in the sediment. In each example, the right-hand vertical arrows give the rain rate and accumulation rate of non-CaC03 dehris and the left-hand vertical arrows the rain rate and accumulation rate of calcite. The wavy arrows represent the dissolution rates of calcite. As can he seen from the graph on the lower right, the percent of calcite in the sediment gives a misleading view of the fraction of the raining calcite which has dissolved, for large amounts of dissolution are required before the...

Check that artwork, such as graphs and statistics, are not misleading Is information on how to report adverse events required ... 

It is important that claims made for medicines do not mislead either intentionally or unintentionally. Therefore, it is important to consider whether the information presented in advertising and promotion can be misconstrued in any way. The way that graphs are presented and statistics are used in promotional items are common causes of false or misleading claims. These are therefore looked at in more detail here. 

Make it clear whether the data presented are from different studies. It is misleading to present data from two or more studies in one graph as though they were all from the same study. This is because, for example, there will be differences in study protocols, patient demographics and numbers. 

Select only part of the data for use in a graph if this gives a misleading impression. This is illustrated in Figures 6.3, 6.4 and 6.5. 

The overall creative part, including images, graphs and tables, must comply with the letter and spirit of the present code. Graphs and tables must be presented in such a way as to provide a clear, fair and balanced view of the data presented. These must be included only if they are relevant to the claims or comparisons made. Medical information leaflets must not contain misleading information or imply any vague indications for the medicinal product. 

In the list of Chart types, click on XY (Scatter) do not select the Line plot, which in Excel means something quite different from what a scientist might expect. The line plot can give you very misleading graphs because it presumes that the x-values are always equidistant. 

The second ChartWizard box lets you specify the type of graph you want. Click on the XY (Scatter) plot your choice will be highlighted. (Do not select the Line plot, because it will automatically assume that all X-values are equidistant. This is convenient when you want to plot, e.g., income or expense as a function of the month of the year, or the region of the country. In scientific applications, however, it makes no sense to treat the X-values merely as labels, and it can yield quite misleading graphs.) Click on Next > to move to the next ChartWizard. 

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