Jon Schwabish Profile picture
Jan 24 8 tweets 4 min read
This dual axis chart is indeed misleading. Placing 5 countries on the left axis and the US on a different right axis makes it look like US military spending lags China in the last few years, which is far from the case. What are some possible alternatives? A 🧵
#1. First off, just plot all the lines on the same graph! Honestly, yes the US is an outlier, but not so much that you can't see the other countries. Line chart with the title "Top Six Countries with the H
#1b. You could also pair the first graph with a graph of just the five countries. You can do this horizontally (left graph) or vertically (right graph).

By the way, I'm not doing anything crazy here--this is all done in Excel and PowerPoint Two horizontally-oriented line charts with the title "TTwo vertically-oriented line charts with the title "Top
#3. Maybe a bump chart would be a good alternative? If *rank* is important, you can go away from dollars and just show the change in rank. Bump chart with the title "Ranking of the Top Six Count
#4. How about show *change* over time? Here, I calculated the change in spending since 1992. You lose the level (dollar) perspective here, but converting to percentages means the lines all easily fit on one axis. Line charts with the title "Percent Change in Military
If you want to see other ideas for alternatives to the dual axis chart, check out these two blog posts:
Avoiding Dual Axis Charts
Part 1: policyviz.com/2022/10/06/avo…
Part 2:
policyviz.com/2023/01/17/avo…
/end 🧵
Post script on this: I just love the caution note Twitter added to the original tweet. Misleading dataviz being flagged is amazing.
Second post script. @wisevis correctly suggested a log scale as another option. Works here, though I don't know if simply adding "Logarithm of..." to the y-axis label is sufficient. Line chart with the title "Top Six Countries with the H

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More from @jschwabish

Jan 24
So, in case you've been wondering what's going on with me and why you are seeing the following image on my PolicyViz website, I thought I'd tell you a little story. 🧵 Picture of a dark sky with ...
This past weekend, my family and I flew to Arizona for my aunt's funeral. She passed in summer 2020 from breast cancer and we couldn't do the funeral during COVID (you can see this picture of her holding me in the dedication to my book). Woman with long dark hair h...
On Saturday morning, I discovered hundreds of $2 charges coming through my online shop. They all had the same email format (e.g. 'abcdef1234@gmail.com') and from the same address in Texas. These were obviously fraudulent but I wasn't sure what to do.
Read 20 tweets
Aug 30, 2021
Quick thread on data visualization contests.

I recognize that dataviz contests can be attractive to some. I entered a bunch when I was first starting and it gave me a chance to practice and potentially get some visibility and money.

But they are also potentially problematic.
Dataviz contests have the potential to act as "spec" work, to ask (usually young) people to create something that the organizing offerer will end up using in their own work.

For example, I find this new one from RMDS concerning: grmds.org/Q3/Comp
Let's take a look at why. The contest is "Developing an Analytics Dashboard to Improve Restaurant Performance." So, right away, my ears perk up--it's not for the World Bank, the IMF, or a small nonprofit. It's already about companies in the private sector.
Read 9 tweets
Aug 3, 2020
I recently published "Ten Guidelines for Better Tables" in the Journal of Benefit Cost Analysis (@benefitcost) on ways to improve your data tables.

Here's a thread summarizing the 10 guidelines.

Full paper is here: cambridge.org/core/journals/…
Before we get to the ten guidelines, recognize that just like in graphs and charts, there are a lot of pieces to tables. And, just like graphs and charts, we can control the look and design of all of these elements.
Rule 1. Offset the Heads from the Body
Make your column titles clear. Try using boldface type or lines to offset them from the numbers and text in the body of the table.
Read 15 tweets
Jun 1, 2020
The @uscensusbureau’s has started releasing results from its new, weekly, Pulse survey. It includes some great data, but we need to be careful in how we use & interpret the results. Here’s a thread (with thanks to my @urbaninstitute colleagues @_Rob_Santos & Doug Wissoker)
Some background: The Pulse survey “is designed to quickly and efficiently deploy data collected on how people’s lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Data collection began 4/23/2020 and is expected to last for 90 days. | census.gov/programs-surve…
The survey includes information about children’s education from home; internet and computer access; employment and expected income loss; food sufficiency; mental health metrics; and housing owner/rental payments.
Read 14 tweets
Aug 23, 2019
THREAD. I shy away from posting overtly political or religious messages on my Twitter feed. This week, however, is leading me to rethink that approach, and I want to share some of my feelings and thoughts about the actions of some our elected officials. Excuse me if I ramble.
For those who don't know, I am a Jewish American. I would not say I am an overly religious person, but my Judaism has helped shaped the person I am today, both with respect to my faith, and also politically and culturally.
It would likely not surprise you that the rise of overt anti-Semitism in the United States (and elsewhere) over the last 2-3 years has been deeply troubling and distressing for me and for the Jewish community of which I am a part.
Read 15 tweets

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