37.12 Constructing figures and graphs

Good figures can be hard to produce, but their purpose should always be kept in mind: To display the data in the simplest, clearest possible way. In general, figures:

Should be discussed (not just simply presented) in the text.
Should be clear and uncluttered.
Should typically have captions below.
Should includes units of measurement (such as kg) where appropriate.
Should be able to be understood without reference to the paper, as far as possible.
Should have any colours or different line types explained.
Should use easy-to-read fonts and colours: Make sure the writing is sufficiently large when the figure is placed in the article.
Should not include chart junk such as artificial third dimensions (Su 2008).

References

Su Y-S. It’s easy to produce chartjunk using Microsoft Excel 2007 but hard to make good graphs. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis. Elsevier; 2008;52(10):4594–601.