C onducting research becomes valuable when you present the result in the paper effectively. You need help with visual elements such as graphs and figures to do it right.
However, importing graphs without any description cannot convey your data correctly.
That is why the description of the graph is as important as the graph itself, and you must overlook its importance.
In this article, we will discuss some tips to tell you ‘How to describe a graph in research paper?’.
What is a graph?
A graph is a visual description of numerical information of research. It visually offers intricate data and illustrates the relationship between variables or data sets.
Presenting data visually helps readers better understand the explanation of the related text and analyze the information better.
So readers will not suffer a lack of information processing. Based on your research data, graphs can be presented in different shapes, including bar and line graphs.
What are the types of graphs?
Graphs come in different types as they differ in some features and how they present data. Based on the kind of numerical data, you can choose the one that best fit your data and cover all important point.
In general, it is better to choose a simple and effective graph to optimize the reader’s understanding:
- Bar graph
One of the common types of graphs is the Bar graph, which contains two axes (X and Y). Data on this graph is represented as columns or bars, which enables the audience to compare different variables easily. There is no relationship between different categories, and they are not affected by each other. - Line graph
line graph displays plotted data points on the graph, which are connected by lines to visualize the trend or pattern between the variables. This allows for a visual representation of how data can change over time and how two variables are connected. - Pie graph
A pie graph, or pie chart, is a circular graph divided into different segments representing different categories. The size of each segment corresponds to the proportion or percentage of each category, allowing the audience to compare multiple categories visually. As a reader, you can easily observe how each category contributes to the whole and understand the relative distribution of the data.
How do you describe graphs in research papers?
Here are points that you should consider when you describe graphs in the research papers:
· Title and Caption: Make the title and captions for the graph clear and brief. Outline key points in the caption section to clarify the graphs’ details.
· Introduce your graph: Before including it in the paper, explain it in the accompanying text to emphasize its relevance and highlight the research results’ points. This will help the reader understand clearly before examining the graph in detail within the paper.
Read More: Best software for drawing scientific figures
· Describe axes and variables: In the graph, you should explain and label the axes for the graph. What each axe shows and include variables in the graph on each axis. For example, the horizontal axis (X-axis) usually represents independent variables, while the vertical axis (Y-axis) usually represents dependent variable measures that change with the independent variable.
· Highlight important points: In the graph, highlight important points such as peaks and sudden changes. The significant points in the graph should be explained in the text by providing reasons behind them or making assumptions. Don’t forget to outline any anomalies or unexpected trends in the graph when you describe the graph in a research paper.
· Analyze statistically: You can see if it is applicable depending on the data type. Analyze it statistically to reinforce the authenticity of your data and results.
· Use supporting evidence: It is beneficial to reference previous papers and studies to give value to your data and findings. This showcases that your data is based on conducted research and not derived from unsupported sources.
· Discuss limitations: To show your honesty in the science, you can introduce limitations related to your data and potential errors, sample size, and unknown factors that can contribute to your results. Acknowledging these limitations demonstrates transparency and helps establish your research’s credibility.
· Share conclusions: The main purpose of conducting research and presenting graphs is to derive conclusions. When describing the conclusion, it is important to inform readers about the purpose of the graph in the paper and how they can utilize the data in future research. By examining variables and their connections, one can reach the correct conclusion.
Final words
Depending on your research type, you can bring graphs in your paper to make your findings clear for the readers.
Representing a graph in the paper without any description is not enough, and because of that, we outlined some tips allowing you to describe a graph in a research paper.
Please read this article useful in representing graphs in your research paper. Do you know another tip for describing graphs? Please tell us in the comment section.
