#scatter plots

Scatter plots can visualize the relationship in the special case of one independent variable X and one dependent variable Y. Scatter plots can suggest a specific type of relationship between the X and Y variables that regression analysis can later explore.

• Panel A, positive straight-line or linear relationship between X and Y. As the value of the X variable increases, the value of the Y variable increases.

• Panel B, negative straight-line or linear relationship between X and Y.

• Panel C, a positive curvilinear relationship between X and Y. The values of Y are increasing as X increases, but this increase tapers off beyond certain values of X.

• Panel D, a U-shaped relationship between X and Y. As X increases, at first Y decreases. However, as X continues to increase, Y not only stops decreasing but actually increases above its minimum value.

• Panel E, an exponential relationship between X and Y. In this case, Y decreases very rapidly as X first increases, but then decreases much less rapidly as X increases further.

Uberti also gave some good reasons for drawing the graph the way he did originally, with his first point being that “many people have difficulty reading scatter plots. When we produce graphics for our magazine, we consider a wide audience, many of whose members are not versed in visualization techniques. For most people, it’s considerably easier to understand an upward or downward line than relative spatial positioning.”

WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME MAKE SCATTER PLOTS FOR EVERY SINGLE QUESTION?! I GET THE POINT! 

Love,

Jacob