Part IV Communicating findings What conclusions would you draw from each of these graphs? For the graph on the left, you might assume there was a large drop in the consumption of nutritious food. For the graph on the right, you might conclude consumption had remained relatively stable, even though both graphs show exactly the same data. Generally, the “Y” axis (the vertical axis) ranges from “0” to the maximum value of the data. However, sometimes the range may be changed to better highlight the differences. Taken to an extreme, this technique can make differences in data seem much larger than they are. 15.3.2. Timelines matters Timelines are also critical when displaying data. First, the overall date range will affect how readers interpret the trends in the data. For example, the two graphs here visualize World Bank data on school enrolment rates in the West Bank and Gaza. What conclusions would you draw from each? SCHOOL ENROLMENT RATE – WEST BANK AND GAZA 1999–2012 100 100 95 95 90 90 85 85 80 4 0 20 5 0 20 6 0 20 7 0 20 8 0 20 9 0 20 0 1 20 1 1 20 2 1 20 80 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Source: World Bank Data Second, the date intervals need to be consistent. It is not uncommon for a data series to be missing years. However, it is important to avoid misleading the reader about the consistency or rate of change. The same data on school enrolments is shown below. How might it be misleading? How could it be corrected? SCHOOL ENROLMENT RATE – WEST BANK AND GAZA 1999–2012 100 95 90 85 80 2006 2008 2011 2012 Source: World Bank Data Chapter 15: Data and design: Communicating through visualization | 151