Data Visualization in Environmental Public Health: From Data to Insight
COMMON VISUALIZATION TYPES AND WHEN TO USE THEM Choosing the Right Visualization
The previous section emphasized the importance of understanding audience needs, decision-making requirements, and the questions that data are intended to answer. Visualization selection should follow those discussions. Once the analysis purpose is clear, the next step is to choose a visualization that communicates the information effectively. Different visualization types reveal different patterns, relationships, and insights, and the choice of visualization directly influences what the audience notices, understands, and remembers. Selecting the right one helps ensure that information is communicated clearly and supports the decision at hand. The best visualization is not necessarily the most sophisticated. It is the one that communicates the information needed to answer a question, support a decision, or prompt an action. The visualization types that follow are among the most common and useful approaches used in EPH. As a quick reference, the table below maps common questions to the visualization types best suited to answer them. The sections that follow explore each type in more detail. Table 1: What Visualization to Choose
IF YOU WANT TO:
CONSIDER USING:
The decision table to the left is a starting point; as analytical needs grow more complex, combining these visualization types is often more practical.
Compare groups or categories
Bar chart
Show change over time
Line chart
Understand distributions or variability
Histogram
Show where events occur
Point map
Compare rates geographically
Choropleth map
Compare counts geographically
Graduated symbol map
Identify patterns across categories or time Heat map Visualize concentrations or clusters Density map Visualize change across space and time
Time-enabled map
Monitor operations and performance
Dashboard
Communicate to public audience
Infographic
Present detailed records or exact values
Table
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