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Statistics, when used in a misleading fashion, can trick the casual observer into believing something other than what the data shows. That is, a misuse of statistics occurs when a statistical argument asserts a falsehood.
In statistics, a misleading graph, also known as a distorted graph, is a graph that misrepresents data, constituting a misuse of statistics and with the result that an incorrect conclusion may be derived from it. Graphs may be misleading by being excessively complex or poorly constructed.
Manipulation of the graph's X-axis can also mislead; see the graph to the right. Both graphs are technically accurate depictions of the data they depict, and do use 0 as the base value of the Y-axis; but the rightmost graph only shows the "trough"; so it would be misleading to claim it depicts typical data over that time period.
A graph or chart or diagram is a diagrammatical illustration of a set of data. If the graph is uploaded as an image file, it can be placed within articles just like any other image. Graphs must be accurate and convey information efficiently. They should be viewable at different computer screen resolutions.
It also shows how statistical graphs can be used to distort reality. For example, by truncating the bottom of a line or bar chart so that differences seem larger than they are. Or, by representing one-dimensional quantities on a pictogram by two- or three-dimensional objects to compare their sizes so that the reader forgets that the images do ...
An example of a chart containing gratuitous chartjunk. This chart uses a large area and much "ink" (many symbols and lines) to show only five hard-to-read numbers, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. Chartjunk consists of all visual elements in charts and graphs that are not necessary to comprehend the information represented on the graph, or that distract the ...
Simpson's paradox has been used to illustrate the kind of misleading results that the misuse of statistics can generate. [7] [8] Edward H. Simpson first described this phenomenon in a technical paper in 1951, [9] but the statisticians Karl Pearson (in 1899 [10]) and Udny Yule (in 1903 [11]) had mentioned similar effects earlier.
One way they might be heteroscedastic is if = (an example of a scedastic function), so the variance is proportional to the value of . More generally, if the variance-covariance matrix of disturbance ε i {\displaystyle \varepsilon _{i}} across i {\displaystyle i} has a nonconstant diagonal, the disturbance is heteroscedastic. [ 9 ]