---
_db_id: 152
content_type: topic
ready: true
title: Data Visualisation
---

Data visualisation is a great way to quickly see what is going on in the data. There are many different ways to visualise data, but some basic principles that always apply are:
- Is the graph easily readable?
- Is this the appropriate graph for the type of data / information that I am trying to display?
- Is the graph accurately representing the data?
- What story am I trying to tell? Is the story clear from the graph?
- Have I given the reader all the information they need to interpret this graph at a glance? Are the axes labeled, and if relevant, is there a legend and title?

[This webiste](https://www.mymarketresearchmethods.com/types-of-charts-choose/) shows some of the most frequently used types of graphs, and what data they are most suitable for. Below, we give a quick summary:

- Show the distribution of a single continuous variable: histograms
- Show the number of observations in a category: donut plots, tree plots, bar graphs
- Show averages or counts by category: bar graph
- Show average and distribution by category: box plot
- Show the relationship between two variables: scatterplots, line graphs
- Show changes over time: line graph (or a bubble chart if you have several variables)


## Tutorials

To get you introduced to data visualisation, complete the following tutorial(s):

**Compulsory**: Go through the DataCamp course [Introduction to Data Visualisation with
Python](https://www.datacamp.com/courses/introduction-to-data-visualization-with-python).

**Optional**: Complete Kaggle's [Data Visualisation: From Non-Coder to Coder](https://www.kaggle.com/learn/data-visualization-from-non-coder-to-coder).

**Advanced: Making interactive graphs with Plotly**
[Here](https://kyso.io/KyleOS/cufflinks-intro?utm_campaign=News&utm_medium=Community&utm_source=DataCamp.com%20add%20to%20curriculum%20visualisation) is a great walk-through of different types of plots in [Plotly](https://plot.ly/python/) with [Cufflinks](https://plot.ly/ipython-notebooks/cufflinks/).