Principles of Good Clinical Data Visualization

Good visualization begins with the question. The chart type should be chosen after the question is clear. If the question is about counts by category, a bar chart may be suitable. If the question is about a numeric distribution, a histogram or box plot may be more useful. If the question is about change over time, a line chart may be appropriate. If the question is about the relationship between two numeric variables, a scatter plot may be useful. Choosing the wrong chart type can obscure the issue.