ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with describing data, when your goal is just to see what a variable or set of variables looks like. You want to inform your intuition, or perhaps someone else’s. Tables and graphs are the key tools. A well-designed table or graph highlights what is interesting and important, while minimizing distractions in the data. There is a great deal of judgment involved in creating effective tables and graphs. Happily, spreadsheet programs have made the process a lot easier. You can easily create several different versions, and then decide which seems to convey the information most clearly.
