Graphical Data Analysis with R

Chapter 2

Brief Review of the Literature and Background Materials

A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound.

Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons)

Summary

Chapter 2 reviews some of the available literature on graphics for data analysis and statistics, gives a brief overview of alternative software to R for graphics (as at the time of writing), and explores what relevant material is available on the web: discussions, graphics and datasets. Finally there is a list of texts covering statistical models that might be used in conjunction with the graphical approach described in the book.

2.1 Literature review

Progress in graphics is bedevilled by the lack of theory. Bertin's classic “Semiology of Graphics”, originally ...