Learn to read rates and growth with their denominators, counts, and periods, check bar-chart axes, and publish clear definitions alongside results.
Read figures with denominators, periods, and actual changes. A large percentage alone does not explain the counts being compared.
Inspect chart axes and units alongside visual impressions, checking underlying values before assuming error or intent.
Hypothetical example: fifty signups from one hundred people give fifty percent; fifty from one thousand give five percent. Equal signup counts can have different rates.
State whether the denominator is page visitors or enquirers and compare matching definitions.
Hypothetical example: growth from five to ten is one hundred percent, an increase of five. Include the starting count alongside the percentage.
Align periods and retain differences in operating days or season.
The UK Government Analysis Function advises starting bar-chart bars at zero. (Government Analysis Function: Bar charts) A truncated axis distorts the relative lengths used to compare bars.
Assess the chart type, axes, and units rather than applying every bar-chart rule to line charts. Publish periods and counting definitions with results.
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A: It is fifty percent of one hundred, or five percent of one thousand.
A: One hundred percent, or five additional cases.
A: Inspect matching periods and operating-day differences.
A: A zero origin, underlying values, and units.
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