Observations on graphing paleozoological data: Suggestions for better graphs

Paleozoologists have long used graphs of diverse styles to describe, analyze, and summarize their data. Some of these graphs provide excellent visual representations of complex data and are readily deciphered. Other graph styles require close study to be interpreted. Ease of visual decoding of information contained in a graph – graph perception – varies from graph style to graph style. Historical instances of graphing paleozoological data indicate some difficult to decipher graph styles have been used for at least a century. Graphs with three-dimensions, moiré effects, superimposed lines, or segmented bars, or which demand simultaneous decipherment of position and magnitude, are ill-advised. Temporal trends in data are best graphed following the principle of superposition such that data from old material is graphed at the bottom and data from younger material is graphed at the top of the diagram.