Medical Informatics

Lecture 4 materials
Why is visualization needed?
✓ People absorb information in graphic form easier than from words
✓ Visualization can reveal patterns, trends and connections in data that
are difficult or impossible to find any other way
✓ Visualization helps to find errors
✓ Visualization saves time for doctors, patients, decision-makers in
healthcare, etc.
Ranking
of visual
elements

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2019/science-data-visualization
Charts and diagrams
• A chart is a graphical • A diagram is a drawing that
representation of data, shows the relationship
usually in the form of a between parts or elements
graph. of something.
Types of charts
• Charts of comparison
• Charts of structure
• Charts of dynamics
 Line chart
• A line chart uses points
connected by line
segments to
demonstrate dynamics.
• The horizontal axis
depicts a continuous
progression, often that
of time, while the
vertical axis reports
values for a metric of
interest across that
progression.
 Bar chart
• A bar chart or bar graph
is a chart or graph that
presents categorical
data with rectangular
bars with heights or
lengths proportional to
the values that they
represent.
• Absolute, mean, or
relative values may be
presented.
• The bars can be plotted
vertically or horizontally.
 3D Bar chart

https://datavizproject.com/data-type/3d-bar-chart/
 Bar chart
• A bar chart with a non-
zero baseline or some
other gap in the axis
scale can easily
misrepresent the
comparison between
groups since the ratio in
bar lengths will not
match the ratio in actual
bar values.
• By cutting 90 points out
of the vertical axis, a
small 4-point difference https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/bar-chart-complete-guide
can be exaggerated to
look like a 1:3 ratio.
 Clustered bar chart
A clustered bar
chart is used to
represent discrete
values for more
than one item that
share the same
category.

https://ezspss.com/how-to-create-a-clustered-bar-chart-in-spss/
 Stacked bar chart
A stacked bar chart
is a type of bar
chart that portrays
the compositions
and comparisons of
several variables
through time.

DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147985
Histogram
• A histogram is a visual
representation of the
distribution of
quantitative data
• To construct a histogram
the entire range of
values should be divided
into a series of interval,
and then the number of
values falling into each
interval is counted.

DOI:10.3390/ijerph16214296
Bar graph vs. Histogram

https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/bar-graphs.html
 Pie chart
A pie chart is a
circular chart which
is divided into slices
to illustrate
numerical
proportions.

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/pie-charts/
Population pyramids

https://www.populationpyramid.net/
 Population pyramids

Staetsky, Daniel (2015)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296692430
Comparison of age and sex groups with pyramids

doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00395-3
 Error bars in various types of charts
Error bars are graphical
representations of the
variability of data and
used on graphs to
indicate the error or
uncertainty in a
reported measurement.

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/errorbar.html
https://www.statology.org/error-bars-in-r/
Error bars in various types of charts
 Box and Whisker Plot
A box and whisker
plot displays the
five-number
summary of a set of
data.
The five-number
summary is the
minimum, first
quartile, median,
third quartile, and
maximum.
https://datavizcatalogue.com/methods/box_plot.html
 Violin plot
A violin plot shows both
the range and the
density of data.

https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:LabXchange:46f64d7a:html:1
 Radar chart
• A radar chart (spider
chart, web chart) is a
two-dimensional chart
type designed to plot
one or more series of
values over multiple
quantitative variables
• It displays multivariate
data stacked at an axis
with the same central
point.
• A radar chart may be
used to illustrate
seasonal changes in
disease incidence,
blooming, etc.
DOI:10.2298/ABS230331018T
 Scatter plot
Scatter plot uses dots to
represent values for two
different numeric
variables.

The position of each dot

on the horizontal and
vertical axis indicates
values for an individual
data point.

Scatter plots are used to

observe relationships
between variables.

https://support.minitab.com/en-us/minitab/21/help-and-how-to/graphs/scatterplot/before-you-start/overview/
 https://www.simplypsychology.org/correlation.html

A positive correlation exists when one variable decreases as the other

variable decreases, or one variable increases while the other increases.
The correlation coefficient is measured on a scale that varies from + 1 through 0 to – 1.
Complete correlation between two variables is expressed by either + 1 or -1.

https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/correlation.html
 Bubble chart
A bubble chart is an
extension of the scatter
plot used to look at
relationships between
three numeric variables.

Each dot in a bubble

chart corresponds with a
single data point, and
the variables' values for
each point are indicated
by horizontal position,
vertical position, and
dot size.

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/bubble-chart-complete-guide#
 Correlation networks

https://bookdown.org/andreabellavia/mixtures/mixtures_files/figure-html/figure3-1.png
 Correlation networks

https://reisrgabriel.com/blog/2021-08-10-psych-network/
 Correlation matrix
A correlation matrix is a table
showing correlation coefficients
between variables.
Each cell in the table shows the
correlation between two
variables.

10.16910/jemr.15.3.4
 Correlation matrix

https://www.sthda.com/
 Correlation matrix

https://www.sthda.com/
 Flowchart
A flowchart is a picture of the
separate steps of a process in
sequential order.

DOI:10.1177/15248380221082152
 Sankey chart
Sankey charts are
used to compare
amounts through
different stages.

https://sankeymatic.com/
https://
sankeymatic.com/
https://
sankeymatic.com/
 Map charts
Map charts are graphical representations that employ geographical maps as a visual backdrop
to display data points or statistical information associated with specific geographic locations.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01301-6
 Kaplan-Meier curves
The Kaplan-Meier curve is
commonly used to analyze
time-to-event data, such as
the time until death or the
time until a specific event
(for example, recurrence of
cancer) occurs.

https://datatab.net/tutorial/kaplan-meier-curve
 Forest plot (blobbogram)
A forest plot is a graphical
display of estimated results
from a number of scientific
studies addressing the same
question, along with the
overall results.
It shows:
• the compared parameter
(odds ratio, relative risk or
other) and its confidence
interval;
• the weight of each study
(depends on the number
of patients);
• the overall effect (based
on all the listed studies). https://s4be.cochrane.org/blog/2016/07/11/tutorial-read-forest-plot/
Forest plot

doi: 10.1038/s41433-021-01867-6
 Colors in data visualization

Avoid unnecessary usage of colors!

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization
 Colors in data visualization: types of color palettes

There are three major types of color palette for data visualization:

✓ Qualitative palettes
✓ Sequential palettes
✓ Diverging palettes

The type of color palette that you use in a visualization depends on the
nature of the data mapped to color.

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization
 Colors in data visualization: types of color palettes
✓ Qualitative palettes
A qualitative palette is used when the variable is categorical in nature
(nominal data that cannot be measured, ordered, etc.)

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization
 Colors in data visualization: types of color palettes
✓ Qualitative palettes
A qualitative palette is used when the variable is categorical in nature
(nominal data that cannot be measured, ordered, etc.)

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization
 Colors in data visualization: types of color palettes
✓ Sequential palettes
A sequential palette can be used when the variable assigned to be colored
is numeric or at least ordinal.

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization
 Colors in data visualization: types of color palettes
✓ Sequential palettes
A sequential palette can be used when the variable assigned to be colored
is numeric or at least ordinal.

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization
 Colors in data visualization: types of color palettes
✓ Diverging palettes
A diverging palettes can be used when a numeric variable has a
meaningful central value, like zero. A diverging palette is essentially a
combination of two sequential palettes with a shared endpoint sitting at
the central value. Values larger than the center are assigned to colors on
one side of the center, while smaller values get assigned to colors on the
opposing side.

https://www.atlassian.com/data/charts/how-to-choose-colors-data-visualization
Charts and diagrams
• A chart is a graphical • A diagram is a drawing that
representation of data, shows the relationship
usually in the form of a between parts or elements
graph. of something.
 Types of diagrams: mind maps
You can use a mind map to
visualize information such as:

- a main topic with nodes

describing subtopics or themes
- a main question with nodes
describing avenues of exploration
- a project with nodes describing
different components or teams
- a network of people with nodes
describing the people and branches
describing relationships (this is
known as a network map)

https://venngage.com/blog/types-of-diagrams/
 Types of diagrams: mind maps
Mind maps can be easily created
using online resources, for example:
https://tobloef.com/text2mindmap/
 Types of diagrams: circle diagrams
A circle diagram is a great way to
present topics as parts contained
within a whole.

https://venngage.com/blog/types-of-diagrams/
 Types of diagrams: tree diagram (dendrogram)
Tree diagrams are
composed of nodes
and branches that
are ranked or
hierarchical.

https://venngage.com/blog/types-of-diagrams/
 Types of diagrams: tree diagram (dendrogram)
You can use a tree
diagram to visualize
topics like:

- Company roles and

reports
(organizational
chart)
- Family and/or
genetic relationships
(genogram)
- Evolutionary
relationships
(phylogenetic tree)

https://venngage.com/blog/types-of-diagrams/
 Types of diagrams: cycle diagrams

https://venngage.com/blog/types-of-diagrams/
 Types of diagrams: decision tree diagrams

doi: 10.1136/jcp.2010.086991
 Types of diagrams: quadrant chart

https://www.collidu.com/presentation-personality-quadrant
Types of diagrams: pyramid diagrams

DOI:10.2337/dc13-1196
 Types of diagrams: Venn diagrams

https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Venn+diagram