During a client workshop, someone asked me if I was a fan of error bars and whether they should use them in their presentations. As I readied my standard “it depends” response, I realized that for once, it didn’t depend. I couldn’t think of a single time when error bars would be the ideal solution for communicating data. (For clarity, if they had asked whether they should articulate the margin of error around their data, my answer would have certainly been it depends. I just wouldn’t use error bars to do so.)
Before I discuss why I’m not a fan of error bars and an alternative solution, let’s explore what they are.
Click through for Alex’s thoughts, including a pair of interesting alternative displays.