A scatter plot is a type of plot or mathematical diagram that uses Cartesian coordinates to display values for typically two variables for a set of data. It is also called a scatterplot, scatter graph, scatter chart, scattergram, or scatter diagram. A scatter plot uses dots to represent values for two different numeric variables, and 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 and can suggest various kinds of correlations between variables with a certain confidence interval. For example, weight and height would be on the y-axis, and height would be on the x-axis. Correlations may be positive (rising), negative (falling), or null (uncorrelated). If the dots pattern slopes from lower left to upper right, it indicates a positive correlation between the variables being studied.
Scatter plots can also be useful for identifying other patterns in data. We can divide data points into groups based on how closely sets of points cluster together. Scatter plots can also show if there are any unexpected gaps in the data and if there are any outlier points. This can be useful if we want to segment the data into different parts, like in the development of user personas.
To create a scatter plot, we need at least 50-100 paired samples of data that we think might be related. We can enter the data into a spreadsheet and plot the data points on a diagram. If we have created our spreadsheet in MS Excel, we can use the program to build a scatter plot with our data.
Scatter plots are used in either of the following situations:
- To find out if theres a relationship between two variables.
- To identify outliers or unusual observations.
- To see how much one variable is affected by another.
Overall, scatter plots are an incredibly powerful chart type that can show the relationship between two variables and provide a visual and statistical means to test the strength of a relationship between two variables.
