Data Presentation

Question 1

Advantages of using a Triangular Graph

Answer 1

Show patterns of clustering between 3 different variables.
Allow a large amount of data to be shown on one graph that can be easily read.
Reliable way of classifying large amounts of data with 3 components.

Question 2

Disadvantages of Triangular Graphs

Answer 2

Only work with a limited range of information: must be 3 variables and must be in % form.

Question 3

Advantages of Box-Plot Graphs

Answer 3

Shows the range of data, upper, lower quartiles and mean.
One box-plot can be compared against another.
Can be used in conjunction with Chi-Squared to identify if there is a significant difference between two or more area’s information.
Good for skewed data

Question 4

Disadvantages of Box-Plots

Answer 4

Can only show one set of data at a time so can become a time consuming process if you want to show many forms of data.

Question 5

Advantages of Dispersion Graphs

Answer 5

Allow you to investigate visually the spread of a set of data.
You can identify any clustering that might exist within the data set.
Dispersion graphs of more than one data set can be constructed provided that the scale is the same and you have different colours.

Question 6

Disadvantages of Dispersion Graph

Answer 6

Does not specifically highlight a mean or descriptively summarise the data

Question 7

Compound Bar graph - Advantages

Answer 7

Versatile with many uses.
Can show positive and negative values.
Allow one bar to be split so that the individual quantities for each site are displayed.

Question 8

Compound Bar graph - Disadvantages

Answer 8

Plotting too many bars can make the graph look cluttered and difficult to interpret.
If there is a wide range of data to be displayed the graph can lose impact.

Question 9

Scatter Graph - Advantages

Answer 9

Patterns and anomalies can be easily identified.
A line of best fit will identify whether there is a positive, negative or no correlation.
Can be used with Spearman’s Rank and Pearson’s Product

Question 10

Scatter Graph - Disadvantages

Answer 10

A line of best fit can be drawn that suggests a misleading relationship between 2 variables

Question 11

Kite Diagram - Advantages

Answer 11

Needs a transect to show data along.
Displays the changing characteristics across a study area.
You are most likely to use this when investigating vegetation succession but it can also be used to show river developments.
It is concerned with the way plant species dominate in a given area as environmental conditions change.

Question 12

Cross-Sections - Advantages

Answer 12

Visual representation - allows you to draw a particular section of a river/footpath to scale.
Depth can be exaggerated to help highlight features that can be compared to other cross-sections

Question 13

Cross-Sections - Disadvantages

Answer 13

Can look unnatural

If you don’t collect enough depths then it will be inaccurate.

Question 14

Profiles - Advantages

Answer 14

A long profile can be used to show the gradient down a slope.
A profile across a seral succession can show the individual stages and how their heights compare to one another.

Question 15

Profiles - Disadvantages

Answer 15

Profile can transform a wiggly line into a straight one which would be a misrepresentation.

Question 16

Logarithmic Graphs - Advantages

Answer 16

The scale increases along a series of cycles (rather than a linear set of equal intervals), they increase by multiples of 10.
Useful when there is a large range of data on display.
Useful for showing the rate of change in the data (a steep line means a fast rate of change, a gently sloping line means a slow rate of change).

Question 17

Logarithmic Graphs - Disadvantages

Answer 17

Easy to make mistakes when plotting points.
0 cannot be plotted on a logarithmic graph.
Negative and positive values cannot be shown on the same logarithmic scale.

Question 18

Proportional Circles - Advantages

Answer 18

The circles are proportional to the values they display - visual.
They are used for comparing one data set to another.

Question 19

Proportional Circles - Disadvantages

Answer 19

Can get untidy if you chose the wrong scale and circles start to overlap one another, making it hard to interpret data.

Question 20

Radial Graphs - Advantages

Answer 20

Bar graph in 360 degrees so also shows direction.
Polar graph can be used to display changing activity over different time periods or the values received at each site for an EQI.

Question 21

Radial Graphs - Disadvantages

Answer 21

Only useful with a limited type of data.

Too many lines and it can get jumbled and confusing to interpret.