Editing 2713: Data Point

{{comic
| number    = 2713
| date      = December 19, 2022
| title     = Data Point
| image     = data_point.png
| imagesize = 315x409px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = In general you should only include your single best data point in the paper. The rest of the data can go in the supplementary materials.
}}

==Explanation== 
When scientific measurements are made, the conclusions are almost always based on many data points observed in relation to each other. The comic jokes that a single data point can somehow be of such interest in isolation that the other data may be disregarded. In reality, a single datum can almost never represent what the information in the related data taken together indicate. 

[[Randall]]'s caption states that a figure illustrating a single datum thus constitutes a "science power move." (Similarly to the [[:Category:Science tip|science tips]] of previous comics.)

This is most likely intended as facetious satire, because the purpose of a chart or graph figure is to present multiple data which would be less clear as tabular or textual data, so there is rarely any reason to devote a figure to a single datum, regardless of its importance. The canonical counterexample is presentation of [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123971609000059 the mean of a group of measurements]. ([https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/3-s2.0-B9780123971609000059-f05-01-9780123971609.jpg Figure here] — note the point's specular reflection indicating 3-D.) A less common counterexample might be when an interesting singular {{w|matrix decomposition}} such as an {{w|eigenvector}} is characterized, but this would only occur when such a datum is highly dimensional. It also could be a joke about papers which only highlight particularly interesting or significant data without including the background measurements or similar mundane information necessary to fully understand or reproduce the findings. While there are [https://www.aje.com/en/arc/data-not-shown-4-reasons-omit-figure-or-table/ accepted reasons for this practice], it can be annoying when trying to follow an otherwise useful procedure or comparing aspects of the results the authors did not anticipate.

The title text suggests relegating all the other data to supplementary materials, presumably to avoid detracting from the single "cool" datum.

==Transcript==

:[A graph is shown. There are regularly spaced unreadable labels along both axes. In the center there is a single data point with short symmetrical vertical error bars. The graph is dominated by a round white center behind the point from where brilliant white lines emanate out radially in all directions, filling most of the background area, and looking like a star or the sun. Beneath the graph there are two lines of unreadable caption text to the left, next to a rectangular legend box on the right with one dot, indicating the data point, and a n unreadable label. Above the graph it is titled:]

:Figure 2.

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:Science power move: When one of your data points is really cool, devote a whole figure to it.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]