Distribution and Group Comparison

Start here for distribution-oriented figures and grouped comparison displays, including basic shape views, summary dots, and cautionary mean-plus-error pages.

Start here

Use this section when your question is about distribution shape, group differences, overlap, spread, or whether individual observations should stay visible in the figure.

This branch covers distribution and group-comparison figures, not relationship or regression figures, multivariable structure, repeated measurements over time, or open-ended custom chart design.

If your main question is about relationships between variables, go to Association and Regression. If your main question is about many variables at once or clustering, go to Multivariate and Clustering. If your main question is about change over time, go to Time and Longitudinal.

If your goal is to...Start with...
summarize grouped distributions compactlyBox Plot
inspect full distribution shape across groupsViolin Plot
keep each observation visibleStrip Plot
check one variable's distribution shapeHistogram
compare grouped summary points with intervalsDot Plot
focus on effect size and uncertainty rather than a significance-first summaryEstimation Plot
combine raw points, distribution shape, and summary cuesRaincloud Plot
understand why mean plus SEM should be treated cautiouslyGroup Comparison Mean and SEM

Child pages

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