{"title":"饼图邪恶吗?饼图和甜甜圈图与条形图相比的价值评估","authors":"Andrew Hill","doi":"10.1177/14738716241259432","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Many data visualization experts recommend the use of bar charts over pie charts because they consider comparing the area or angle of segments to be less accurate than comparing bars on a bar chart. However, many studies show that when the pie chart is used to estimate proportions (arguably its main function) it is as accurate as the bar chart. A major issue is that most previous studies have only looked at one method of extracting information from pie charts, for example either by comparing the segment to the circle (the part-whole relationship) or one segment to another (relative magnitude estimation). Therefore, in this study I test multiple metrics to provide a more holistic assessment of the pie and donut chart against the bar chart. I also measured cognitive load through pupillometry. In summary, bar charts were more precise than pie and donut charts for ranking elements, but all charts were equally accurate for extracting the part-whole relationship. There was little difference in cognitive load between chart types, although bar charts were consistently faster to use on average. Overall, the bar chart was more flexible, but where there were statistically significant differences between charts, the effect sizes were often small, and unlikely to prevent effective extraction of quantitative information. That is, as long as they were used appropriately, all chart types were arguably acceptable for displaying simple, categorical data.","PeriodicalId":50360,"journal":{"name":"Information Visualization","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Are pie charts evil? An assessment of the value of pie and donut charts compared to bar charts\",\"authors\":\"Andrew Hill\",\"doi\":\"10.1177/14738716241259432\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"Many data visualization experts recommend the use of bar charts over pie charts because they consider comparing the area or angle of segments to be less accurate than comparing bars on a bar chart. However, many studies show that when the pie chart is used to estimate proportions (arguably its main function) it is as accurate as the bar chart. A major issue is that most previous studies have only looked at one method of extracting information from pie charts, for example either by comparing the segment to the circle (the part-whole relationship) or one segment to another (relative magnitude estimation). Therefore, in this study I test multiple metrics to provide a more holistic assessment of the pie and donut chart against the bar chart. I also measured cognitive load through pupillometry. In summary, bar charts were more precise than pie and donut charts for ranking elements, but all charts were equally accurate for extracting the part-whole relationship. There was little difference in cognitive load between chart types, although bar charts were consistently faster to use on average. Overall, the bar chart was more flexible, but where there were statistically significant differences between charts, the effect sizes were often small, and unlikely to prevent effective extraction of quantitative information. That is, as long as they were used appropriately, all chart types were arguably acceptable for displaying simple, categorical data.\",\"PeriodicalId\":50360,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Information Visualization\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":1.8000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-06-25\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Information Visualization\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"94\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1177/14738716241259432\",\"RegionNum\":4,\"RegionCategory\":\"计算机科学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q3\",\"JCRName\":\"COMPUTER SCIENCE, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Information Visualization","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14738716241259432","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"COMPUTER SCIENCE, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING","Score":null,"Total":0}
Are pie charts evil? An assessment of the value of pie and donut charts compared to bar charts
Many data visualization experts recommend the use of bar charts over pie charts because they consider comparing the area or angle of segments to be less accurate than comparing bars on a bar chart. However, many studies show that when the pie chart is used to estimate proportions (arguably its main function) it is as accurate as the bar chart. A major issue is that most previous studies have only looked at one method of extracting information from pie charts, for example either by comparing the segment to the circle (the part-whole relationship) or one segment to another (relative magnitude estimation). Therefore, in this study I test multiple metrics to provide a more holistic assessment of the pie and donut chart against the bar chart. I also measured cognitive load through pupillometry. In summary, bar charts were more precise than pie and donut charts for ranking elements, but all charts were equally accurate for extracting the part-whole relationship. There was little difference in cognitive load between chart types, although bar charts were consistently faster to use on average. Overall, the bar chart was more flexible, but where there were statistically significant differences between charts, the effect sizes were often small, and unlikely to prevent effective extraction of quantitative information. That is, as long as they were used appropriately, all chart types were arguably acceptable for displaying simple, categorical data.
期刊介绍:
Information Visualization is essential reading for researchers and practitioners of information visualization and is of interest to computer scientists and data analysts working on related specialisms. This journal is an international, peer-reviewed journal publishing articles on fundamental research and applications of information visualization. The journal acts as a dedicated forum for the theories, methodologies, techniques and evaluations of information visualization and its applications.
The journal is a core vehicle for developing a generic research agenda for the field by identifying and developing the unique and significant aspects of information visualization. Emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary material and on the close connection between theory and practice.
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).