Scholarly Communication Support: Planning, Conducting, Disseminating, Promoting, & Assessing Research

• Determine your audience. What questions will they need answered?
• Choose the right kind of chart (or other visualization) to depict the type of information you have.
• Form follows function. Focus on how your audience needs to use the data, and let that determine the presentation style.
• Provide the necessary context for data to be interpreted and acted upon appropriately.
• Keep it simple. Remove any non-essential information.
• Choose colors carefully to draw attention while also considering accessibility issues such as contrast.
• Seek balance in your visual elements, including texture, color, shape, and negative space.
• Use patterns (of chart types, colors, or other design elements) to identify similar types of information.
• Use proportion carefully so that differences in design size fairly represent differences in value.
• Be skeptical. Ask yourself questions about what data is not represented and what insights might therefore be misinterpreted or missing.

"...when data are collected and communicated carelessly, data analysis and data visualizations have an outsize capacity to mislead, misrepresent, and harm communities that already experience inequity and discrimination.

"For researchers and analysts to unlock the full potential of their data, they must apply an equitable lens to every step of the research process. Were the data collected responsibly, and do they accurately represent the communities surveyed? Do researchers allow for and incorporate community input? Does the final product consider equity and inclusion in its presentation?"

Source: Do No Harm Guide