Edward R. Tufte, ,The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983) Graphics Press,Cheshire, CT...
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Book Reviews Books applicable to the broad field of program evaluation will be reL'iewed. IHrile EP will continue to have individual titles reviewed; a nell' interest is reL'iews that illuminatesimilarities and differencesin intent, philosophy, and usefulness of groups ofbooks. Persons with suggestions for books to be revlc .... cd or those who wish to submit a review should contact Barbara Searle, 9-1025th St., N.IV., Apt. JUs, lI&shingtoll, DC 20037, for specific instructions. In general, a re, 'ieLv of an individual book should not exceed four double-spaced typewritten pages. Groups of books may require additional length. Edward R. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire,CT: Graphics Press, 1983, 197 pp. William S. Cleveland, The Elements of Graphing Data. Monterey, CA: Wadsworth, 1985,323 pp. Calvin F. Schmid, Statistical Graphics. New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1983,212 pp. Reviewedby: Michael Hendricks MH Associates, Washing/on, DC Quickly now-a picture is worth !l01Y many words? Well, like so many questions, the best answer is probably "It depends." A good picture is worth everyone of the proverbial 1,000 words-maybe even a few more. A bad picture,on the other hand, may need J,000 wordsjust to explain it. Fortunate- ly, these three books can teach us how to fill our evaluations with "good pictures"(or "excellent graphics," if you're going fortenure),although each book helps in a different way. First,however, let's remember whywe usegraphicsat all. They havefour distinct advantages over simply using words and tables: (1) Graphics can allow a larger quantity of data to be displayed and absorbed quickly; (2) graphicscan revealpatterns that are not apparent in the textor even in a table; (3) graphics can allow easier comparisons among data sets; and (4) graphics can have a much stronger impact on our audiences. However, as these three books all point out, excellent graphics do notjust happen. Graphical com- 68
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Transcript of Edward R. Tufte, ,The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983) Graphics Press,Cheshire, CT...
Book Reviews
Books applicable to the broad field of program evaluation will be reL'iewed. IHrile EP willcont inue to have individual titles reviewed; a nell' interest is reL'iews that illuminate similaritiesand differencesin intent , philosophy, and usefulness ofgroups ofbooks. Persons with suggestionsfor books to be revlc....cd or those who wish to submit a review should contact Barbara Searle ,9-1025th St., N.IV., Apt. JUs, lI&shingtoll, DC 20037, for specific instructions. In general, are, 'ieLv ofan individual book should not exceed four double-spaced typewritten pages. Groupsofbooks may require additional length.
Edward R. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.Cheshire,CT:GraphicsPress, 1983, 197 pp.
William S. Cleveland, The Elements of Graphing Data. Monterey, CA:Wadsworth, 1985,323 pp.
Calvin F. Schmid, Statistical Graphics. New York: Wiley-Interscience,1983,212 pp.
Reviewedby: Michael HendricksMHAssociates, Washing/on, DC
Quickly now-a picture is worth !l01Y many words? Well, like so manyquestions, the best answer is probably"It depends."Agood picture is wortheveryone of the proverbial 1,000 words-maybe even a few more. A badpicture,on theotherhand,mayneed J,000 wordsjust toexplain it.Fortunately, these three books can teach us how to fill our evaluations with "goodpictures"(or "excellentgraphics," if you're going for tenure),although eachbook helps in a different way.
First,however, let's remember whywe usegraphicsat all. They havefourdistinct advantages over simply using words and tables: (1) Graphics canallow a larger quantity of data to be displayed and absorbed quickly; (2)graphicscan revealpatterns thatare notapparent in thetextor evenin a table;(3) graphicscan allow easiercomparisons amongdatasets; and (4) graphicscan havea muchstronger impact on our audiences. However, as these threebooks all point out, excellent graphics do not just happen. Graphical com-
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