Overview of a visual tool used in data presentation
Chosen visual tool
The selected visual is the Dot plot, which is also known as the Dot chart (Kirk, 2016). Visually it appears like a dot, and in order to compare the frequency, the simple scale is used. Only small sets of data are used for the Dot plot.
Purpose served by the visual tool
The Dot plot mainly shows varying quantitative values, and different categories of data can be used. Again, it is used to display data distribution, and it is a vital tool that provides useful information regarding the set, mode, and shape of data. Univariate data is used, and the variable is either quantitative or categorical. Visually, the appearance of dot plots is similar to that of a horizontal bar chart.
Type of data that should be illustrated in the chosen visual
The dot plot is used for displaying univariate data only. In a dot plot, each dot displays a particular value. In the case of whole numbers, the value might occur twice or thrice, and dots are usually placed above each other. The frequency of a particular value is represented by column height of dots. Apart from displaying univariate data, dot plots are also useful for displaying quantitative and continuous data (Drummond & Vowler, 2011). In statistics, dot plots are regarded as the simplest visual. It is appropriate to use moderate and small-sized sets of data. Lastly, outliers, gaps, and clusters are also displayed using dot plots.
Type of data that should be avoided in the chosen visual
Dot plots are not appropriate for displaying large data sets. Unlike histograms, in dot plots, there should be no space between dots, and it should not be placed uniformly over the horizontal axis. It can be a possible alternative to the histogram as well as a bar chart (Robbins, 2006). However, in a bar chart, bars are used, and similarly, in a dot plot, plots should be applied. Based on the values of the chosen categories, dots are used to highlight the values. Since the purpose behind using a dot plot is to ensure accuracy, it can be recommended that labels in a dot plot should be easily recognizable by readers or audience.
Techniques to circumvent visual misleading
It is necessary to ensure that learners and the audience are not deceived. They should not get confused after looking at the chart because the purpose of creating a chart is clarifying the information presented in the chart and making it easier to understand. Again, it is vital to follow a standard or convention while using visual tools. In this manner, it would be possible to avoid misleading the audience. The vertical scale should not be too big, and the presenter should not skip numbers while plotting the dots. It will be misleading for the audience if any form of data is left out or not plotted. A basic representation standard must be followed, and therefore, the “one dot per row” can be considered as the most basic representation. The audience might confuse a dot plot with a scatterplot, and therefore chart designers must be aware of the mentioned standards.