Presenting statistical data
Presenting results and presenting data graphically
Sources on presenting research results
Start here: Guidelines on reporting research - how to make sure you do a good job of reporting research results.
Mostly there appear to be guidelines in the medical, public health areas.
EQUATOR Network website https://www.equator-network.org the resource centre for good reporting of health research studies. The EQUATOR (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) Network is an international initiative that seeks to improve the reliability and value of published health research literature by promoting transparent and accurate reporting and wider use of robust reporting guidelines.
This website links to other reporting guidelines.
Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives: By Organization This chart lists the major biomedical research reporting guidelines that provide advice for reporting research methods and findings. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/research_report_guide.html
Some specific guidelines
CONSORT http://www.consort-statement.org/ which stands for Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials, encompasses various initiatives developed by the CONSORT Group to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The main product of CONSORT is the CONSORT Statement, which is an evidence-based, minimum set of recommendations for reporting RCTs.
CONSORT and SPIRIT (another clinical trials guidelines site) are being revised, as of June 2024. See here for explanation. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01989-8#change-history
PRISMA http://www.prisma-statement.org/ stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. It is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
STROBE - Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology. https://www.strobe-statement.org/ STROBE stands for an international, collaborative initiative of epidemiologists, methodologists, statisticians, researchers and journal editors involved in the conduct and dissemination of observational studies in epidemiology.
TREND https://www.cdc.gov/trendstatement/ the mission of the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND) group is to improve the reporting standards of nonrandomized evaluations of behavioral and public health interventions.
But see this 2011 study about medical/public health research:
Bennett C, Khangura S, Brehaut JC, Graham ID, Moher D, et al. (2011) Reporting Guidelines for Survey Research: An Analysis of Published Guidance and Reporting Practices. PLoS Med 8(8): e1001069. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001069 http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001069
This paper says that there seem to be problems about reporting the quality of survey research. The authors write "Our own review of 117 published survey studies revealed that many items were poorly reported: few studies provided the survey or core questions (35%), reported the validity or reliability of the instrument (19%), defined the response rate (25%), discussed the representativeness of the sample (11%), or identified how missing data were handled (11%)."
Tips on how to present results
If you can't find it below, look at Betty Jung's links to graphics page https://www.bettycjung.net/Graphing.htm which has a great many links about presenting data.
Gallery of Data Visualization: The Best and Worst of Statistical Graphics https://www.datavis.ca/gallery/
Best Practices
Best Practices for Data Visualisation https://royal-statistical-society.github.io/datavisguide/ 2024. The overarching aim of this guide is to equip the reader with the fundamentals for creating data visualisations that are high quality, readable, effective at conveying information, accurate in display and interpretation, and fulfil their intended purpose. It begins with an overview of why we visualise data, and then discusses the core principles and elements of data visualisations – including the structure of charts and tables, and how those structures can be refined to aid readability. Concrete advice, examples, and code are presented to help improve the styling of charts, with a particular focus on accessibility.... Readers will also find links to resources for choosing the right type of chart for the data at hand.
Data Visualization: Best Practices https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-26-0005/892600052022001-eng.htm Release Feb 2023.
Visual Best Practices https://help.tableau.com/current/blueprint/en-us/bp_visual_best_practices.htm This page is kind of an overview. Also see their guide Visual Analysis Best Practices: A Guidebook https://www.tableau.com/learn/whitepapers/tableau-visual-guidebook
More general guides
Making data meaningful https://unece.org/statistics/making-data-meaningful from the UN Economic Commission of Europe. How to write, present and communicate about data. 2009
Guidance hub https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/ In particular two guides, about tables, https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/data-visualisation-tables/ and about charts, https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/data-visualisation-charts/ Updated in 2022.
The principles of presenting statistical results using figures. Park JH, Lee DK, Kang H, Kim JH, Nahm FS, Ahn E, In J, Kwak SG, Lim CY. Korean J Anesthesiol. 2022 Apr;75(2):139-150. doi: 10.4097/kja.21508. Epub 2022 Mar 3. PMID: 35016496; PMCID: PMC8980283. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8980283/
Statistical data presentation. Junyong In and Sangseok Lee. Korean J Anesthesiol. 2017 Jun; 70(3): 267–276. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5453888/ Describes various types of tables, graphs, and mentions some strengths and challenges.
Principles of Effective Data Visualization. Stephen R. Midway. Patterns (N Y). 2020 Dec 11; 1(9): 100141. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7733875/
National Center for Educational Statistics, Create a Graph https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/ a site for students, to show how to use various graph formats. See these two lessons
https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/help/user_guide/graph/bar.asp about bar charts,
https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/help/user_guide/graph/line.asp about line graphs
Exploring Data: graphs and numerical summaries . a class by The Open University's Learning Space. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-statistics/exploring-data-graphs-and-numerical-summaries/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab This is the class for 2022. If this link doesn't work , go to the open learn home page https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ and search by title of this class.
CDC's Brief 12 https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/index.htm#tabs-811330-3 Using Graphs and Charts to Illustrate Quantitative Data. Updated 2018
Visual Literacy Org https://www.visual-literacy.org has various demonstrations, documents, etc including this Periodic Table of Visualization Methods https://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
AEA has a blog stream about data visualization http://aea365.org/blog/category/data-visualization-and-reporting/ many contributions
Statistical Graphics Section https://community.amstat.org/jointscsg-section/home section of American Statistical Association. Has section newsletter and list of links. AmStat News has a special issue on data vizualization https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2024/09/02/dataviz/
Statistics: Power from data. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/edu/power-pouvoir/toc-tdm/5214718-eng.htm has a section describing presenting data https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/edu/power-pouvoir/ch9/5214821-eng.htm showing examples of different types of graphs. 2021
Rougier NP, Droettboom M, Bourne PE (2014) Ten Simple Rules for Better Figures. PLoS Comput Biol 10(9): e1003833. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003833 https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003833
Presenting data in tables and charts. Rodrigo Pereira Duquia, João Luiz Bastos, Renan Rangel Bonamigo, David Alejandro González-Chica, and Jeovany Martínez-Mesa. An Bras Dermatol. 2014 Mar-Apr; 89(2): 280–285. doi: 10.1590/abd1806-4841.20143388. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4008059/
Belmont University, Presenting Findings Visually https://www.belmont.edu/academic-assessment/student-learning-assessment/pages/quantitative-data.html no date given.
Data Visualization for Human Perception https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/data-visualization-for-human-perception by David Few. About effective presentation of data, and why these things are effective. In the book "The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed.", from the Interaction Design Foundation. no date given.
Graphing sociology https://thesocietypages.org/graphicsociology/ the author of this page, Laura Noren, presents graphs, charts or tables and analyzes why they work or don't work. Feb 2015
Census Bureau has examples of data visualizations, and infographics https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations.html
Presenting data. https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/about-statistics/presenting-data guidance on presenting statistical information. Guide to tables, and guide to charts. 2015. From Queensland Government
Guidelines for Effective Data Presentations https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-od41-other-documents.cfm 2004
I list these books too, because these books are so highly recommended.
books by Edward Tufte, especially
Envisioning information, graphics press, 1990
the visual display of quantitative information, graphics press, 1987
books by William Cleveland, especially
visualizing data , hobart press, 1993
the elements of graphing data, CRC press, 1994
Sites about general presentation tips:
Andrew Gelman, at Columbia http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/ has this presentation on presenting graphics. 2012
Prepare charts on line
Tableau public https://public.tableau.com/s/ says you can make charts for free
HOW TO PREPARE REPORTS
Plain Language.gov https://plainlanguage.gov from the US Govt, especially see the guidelines
https://plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/ with sections like short sections, useful headings, etc.
Program managers guide to evaluation. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/the-program-managers-guide-to-evaluation-second-edition Second Edition, 2010 has a chapter on how to report what you have learned. Starting on page 98. (The printed page number is 87, but you have to go to page 98)
Writing research papers http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html general guide for biostat reports, but still useful.
last updated and verified 6/6/2024