(This article was originally published at Junk Charts, and syndicated at StatsBlogs.)
Found this chart in the magazine that Charles Schwab sends to customers:
When there are two variables, and their correlation is of interest, a scatter plot is usually recommended. But not here!
The text labels completely dominate this chart and the designer tried very hard to place them but a careful look reveals that some boxes are placed above the dots while others are placed to their right and the dot for "Short Treasuries" holds refuge quite a while away from the dot. This means the locations of the text boxes do not substitute for the dots.
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Here is a different view of this data:
I am using a bumps-style chart, which allows the labels to be written horizontally outside the canvass. Instead of all categories plotted on the same chart, I use a small multiples setup to differentiate three types of risk-return relationships.
Please comment on the article here: Junk Charts
