IMHO: On Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 7:51 AM, Duncan Murdoch <murdoch.dun...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 11-08-01 5:44 AM, Andrew McCulloch wrote: >> >> Hi, >> >> I use R to draw my graphs. I have 100 points on a simple xy-plot. The >> points are >> distinguished by a third variable which is categorical with 10 levels. I >> have >> been plotting x against y and using gray scales to distinguish the level >> of the >> categorical variable for each point. It looks ok to me but a journal >> reviewer >> says this is not any use. I cannot afford to pay for colour prints. Any >> ideas on >> what is the best way to distinguish 10 groups on an xy scatter plot? > > Plot digits or letters or other symbols. > > Duncan Murdoch > No, this does not work. See Cleveland's books (e.g. "Visualizing Data"). 10 is too many symbols to constantly refer to a legend to keep straight, and digits or letters do not allow you to readily perceive the pattern. (Caveat: If "most" of the data are only 2 or 3 of the symbols, then these can work).
I think the OP's idea of using gray scales was better. I would dispute the reviewer and refer them to appropriate references. Alternatively, thermometer plots (aka "filled rectangle" plots) would be best. Again, Cleveland's books provide scientific justification rather than merely the (possibly uninformed) aesthetic opinion of a reviewer. Presumably, the journal editor would accept hard data and psychological research in preference to opinions. >> >> >> >> If all else fails I can just remove the graph and give them a table of >> regression coefficients. No. I think your attempt to use a graph is a much better way to go. Try to resist poor practices such as just publishing summary statistics. Cheers, Bert >> >> >> Thanks. >> >> Yours Sincerely >> Andrew McCulloch >> >> ______________________________________________ >> R-help@r-project.org mailing list >> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help >> PLEASE do read the posting guide >> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html >> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code. > > ______________________________________________ > R-help@r-project.org mailing list > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code. > -- "Men by nature long to get on to the ultimate truths, and will often be impatient with elementary studies or fight shy of them. If it were possible to reach the ultimate truths without the elementary studies usually prefixed to them, these would not be preparatory studies but superfluous diversions." -- Maimonides (1135-1204) Bert Gunter Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
