Scatter


Scatter charts, also known as scatter plots or scatter graphs, observe relationships between variables and are frequently used to display continuous data comparison.
The demo below compares the consumer price index vs. wage increases in Norway over the last four decades. The x-axis indicates values for the consumer price index, whereas on the y-axis indicates the wage increases.
To avoid data cluttering, the data set from 1991 to 2010 are deactivated by default. Users can easily activate or deactivate any data set by clicking on the correspondent legend.

Good to know

Pros:

  • Allow a quick overview of the data comparison.
  • Visualize patterns with ease.
  • Easy to interpret and understand.
  • Outliers are quick to identify.
  • Existence of relationship (or non relation)between variables is quickly identified.
  • Can handle a large number of data sets.
  • Flexible, as functions with almost any continuous scale data.

Cons:

  • A scatter chart can be easily cluttered with a large number of series.
  • Sometimes it is tricky to determine with accuracy distribution, correlations, and patterns.

Remark

Adding a trend line to the scatter chart is recommended to get a precise correlation, such as a regression line. The following demo displays regression lines to make linear models and eases the comparison of the data sets.

Information

Learn more about how to create a scatter chart with Highcharts.