Adjusting

Non-data Ink

Remove non-data ink and optimize data-ink

Non-data ink, like the border around the plot, does not add useful information and can be removed. Data ink, such as the axes tick marks do not encompass the entire data set, and so can be extended. In addition, the axes labels should provide details like the units.

Adjust the aspect ratio appropriately

Jittering, removal of unnecessary non-data ink, and an aspect ratio of 1.

Choosing an inappropriate aspect ratio can distort the visual representation of the data. In the worst-case, emphasising weak trends and obscuring troublesome aspects in this manner can be considered unethical. Even in the best-case, you will not effectively communicate your results if you use an inappropriate aspect ratio.

Here we have a clear choice for choosing an appropriate aspect ratio. Since both variables are on the same scale (i.e. measured in centimetres), the only logical choice is that the physical scales are also the same. That is, if 1.0 cm sepal width (scale) is drawn as 0.5 cm on paper (physical) then this should also be the case for sepal length.

Barnett, Adrian, and Nicole White. 2024. “Something is off-base with this title: P esteems, statical significance and more slapdash stats.” Significance 21 (1): 11–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrssig/qmae007.

Berger, J. 2008. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Modern Classics. Penguin Books Limited. https://books.google.de/books?id=QxdperNq5R8C.

Berne, E. 2011. Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis. Tantor Media, Incorporated. https://books.google.de/books?id=D9dOBAAAQBAJ.

Bilz, S., R. Klanten, and M. Mischler. 2011. The Little Know-It-All: Common Sense for Designers. Gestalten. https://books.google.de/books?id=JA8FfAEACAAJ.

Bjork, Robert A, and Elizabeth L Bjork. 2011. “Making Things Hard on Yourself, but in a Good Way: Creating Desirable Difficulties to Enhance Learning.” In Psychology and the Real World: Essays Illustrating Fundamental Contributions to Society, edited by Morton A Gernsbacher, Robert W Pew, Leah M Hough, and James R Pomerantz, 56–64. Worth Publishers.

Bloom, P. 2016. Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion. HarperCollins. https://books.google.de/books?id=op67CwAAQBAJ.

Bringhurst, R. 2004. The Elements of Typographic Style. Elements of Typographic Style. Hartley & Marks, Publishers. https://books.google.de/books?id=940sAAAAYAAJ.

Briscoe, M. H. 2012. Preparing Scientific Illustrations: A Guide to Better Posters, Presentations, and Publications. Springer New York. https://books.google.de/books?id=mYTlBwAAQBAJ.

Cepeda, Nicholas J, Harold Pashler, Edward Vul, John T Wixted, and Doug Rohrer. 2006. “Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks: A Review and Quantitative Synthesis.” Psychological Bulletin 132 (3): 354–80.

Chasson, Gregory, and Sara R. Jarosiewicz. 2014. “Social Competence Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorders.” In Comprehensive Guide to Autism, edited by Vinood B. Patel, Victor R. Preedy, and Colin R. Martin, 1099–1118. New York, NY: Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4788-7_60.

Cheeseman, Ian H., Natalia Gomez-Escobar, Celine K. Carret, Alasdair Ivens, Lindsay B. Stewart, Kevin KA Tetteh, and David J. Conway. 2009. “Gene Copy Number Variation Throughout the Plasmodium Falciparum Genome.” BMC Genomics 10 (1): 353. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-10-353.

Cherry, C. 1980. On Human Communication: A Review, a Survey, and a Criticism. MIT Press Classics. MIT Press. https://books.google.de/books?id=kQwqSwAACAAJ.

Daston, L., and P. Galison. 2007. Objectivity. Book Collections on Project MUSE. Zone Books.

Diemand-Yauman, Connor, Daniel M Oppenheimer, and Erikka B Vaughan. 2011. “Fortune Favors the Bold (and the Italicized): Effects of Disfluency on Educational Outcomes.” Cognition.

Economist, The. 2018. “How heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness.” https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/05/18/how-heavy-use-of-social-media-is-linked-to-mental-illness.

Hamming, R., and B. Victor. 2020. The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn. Stripe Matter Incorporated.

Harris, S. 2012. Free Will. Free Press. https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=iRpkNcRt1IcC.

Hench, Virginia K., and Lishan Su. 2011. “Regulation of IL-2 Gene Expression by Siva and FOXP3 in Human t Cells.” BMC Immunology 12 (1): 54. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2172-12-54.

Hill, Jennifer, and Maria Singer. 2014. “A Comparison of Print and Digital Reading Comprehension by Middle School Students.” Reading Research Quarterly 49 (2): 185–203. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.68.

Hofmann, A. H. 2020. Scientific Writing and Communication: Papers, Proposals, and Presentations. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.de/books?id=vQXuxAEACAAJ.

Jeffares, A. N., and M. B. Davies. 1958. The Scientific Background: A Prose Anthology. Pitman. https://books.google.de/books?id=F_gLAQAAIAAJ.

Kahneman, D. 2011. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus; Giroux. https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=ZuKTvERuPG8C.

Lupton, E. 2010. Thinking with Type, 2nd Revised and Expanded Edition: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students. Princeton Architectural Press. https://books.google.de/books?id=Y_NVRQAACAAJ.

Mangen, Anne, and Don Kuiken. 2014. “Lost in an iPad: Narrative Engagement on Paper and Tablet.” Scientific Study of Literature 4 (2): 150–77. https://doi.org/10.1075/ssol.4.2.01man.

Mangen, Anne, Bente R Walgermo, and Kolbjørn Brønnick. 2013. “Reading Linear Texts on Paper Versus Computer Screen: Effects on Reading Comprehension.” International Journal of Educational Research 58: 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.12.002.

Margolin, Sara J, Christine Driscoll, Michael J Toland, and Jessica L Kegler. 2013. “E-Readers, Computer Screens, or Paper: Does Reading Comprehension Change Across Media Platforms?” Applied Cognitive Psychology 27 (4): 512–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.2930.

Murayama, Hiroshi, Yusuke Takagi, Hirokazu Tsuda, and Yuri Kato. 2023. “Applying Nudge to Public Health Policy: Practical Examples and Tips for Designing Nudge Interventions.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20053962.

producer, Stephen Lambert ;. written executive, and produced by Adam Curtis ;. RDF Television; BBC. [2009?]. “The Century of the Self.” Standard format. Wyandotte, MI : BigD Productions, [2009?]. https://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/9910135083802121.

Roediger, Henry L, and Jeffrey D Karpicke. 2006. “Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention.” Psychological Science 17 (3): 249–55.

Rohrer, Doug, and Kelli Taylor. 2007. “The Shuffling of Mathematics Problems Improves Learning.” Instructional Science 35 (6): 481–98.

Roman, K., and J. Raphaelson. 2010. Writing That Works, 3rd Edition: How to Communicate Effectively in Business. HarperCollins. https://books.google.de/books?id=3Rcv5CmGYf0C.

Roßa, N. 2017. Sketchnotes: Visuelle Notizen für Alles. frechverlag.

———. 2020. Sketchnotes: Die Große Symbol-Bibliothek. frechverlag.

Rousselet, Guillaume A, John J Foxe, and J Paul Bolam. 2016. “A Few Simple Steps to Improve the Description of Group Results in Neuroscience.” Eur. J. Neurosci. 44 (9): 2647–51.

Sanges, Remo, Yavor Hadzhiev, Marion Gueroult-Bellone, Agnes Roure, Marco Ferg, Nicola Meola, Gabriele Amore, et al. 2013. “Highly conserved elements discovered in vertebrates are present in non-syntenic loci of tunicates, act as enhancers and can be transcribed during development.” Nucleic Acids Research 41 (6): 3600–3618. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkt030.

Shannon, Claude Elwood. 1948. “A Mathematical Theory of Communication.” The Bell System Technical Journal 27: 379–423. http://plan9.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pdf.

Singer, Leona M, Patricia A Alexander, and Deborah D Reese. 2014. “Reading on Paper and Digitally: What the Past Decades of Empirical Research Reveal.” Review of Educational Research 84 (4): 509–45. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314541101.

Slamecka, Norman J, and Peter Graf. 1978. “The Generation Effect: Delineation of a Phenomenon.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory 4 (6): 592–604.

“Status of Mind - social media and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.” 2017. Royal Society for Public Health.

Steed, S., and an O’Reilly Media Company Safari. 2019. Empathy at Work. O’Reilly Media. https://books.google.de/books?id=U-j8xAEACAAJ.

Wästlund, Erik, Lars Nilsson, and Kenneth Holmqvist. 2012. “Eye Movement Patterns and Reading Processes in Eye-Friendly and Non-Eye-Friendly Typography.” Information Design Journal 19 (2): 119–32.

Weschler, L. 2006. Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences. McSweeney’s Books. https://books.google.de/books?id=dqefAAAAMAAJ.

Zinsser, W. 2012. On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction. HarperCollins. https://books.google.de/books?id=mp16BDRDaYQC.