formatting graphs

Member Training: An Introduction into the Grammar of Graphics

June 1st, 2021 by

As it has been said a picture is worth a thousand words and so it is with graphics too. A well constructed graph can summarize information collected from tens to hundreds or even thousands of data points. But not every graph has the same power to convey complex information clearly. (more…)


Member Training: How to Avoid Common Graphical Mistakes

December 1st, 2019 by

Good graphs are extremely powerful tools for communicating quantitative information clearly and accurately.

Unfortunately, many of the graphs we see today confuse, mislead, or deceive the reader.

These poor graphs result from two key limitations. One is a graph designer who isn’t familiar with the principles of effective graphs. The other is software with a poor choice of default settings.

(more…)


Macros in Stata, Why and How to Use Them

October 17th, 2014 by

We finished the last article about Stata with the confusing coding of:

local continuous educat exper wage age

foreach var in `continuous'{
graph box `var’, saving(`var’,replace)
}

I admit it looks like a foreign language.  Let me explain how simple it is to understand. (more…)