Visualization of Skewed Data: A Tool in R

TL;DR

This paper introduces a visualization tool in R for skewed data, combining notched boxplots, violin plots, histograms, and density estimates to enhance data interpretation, demonstrated on radar image data.

Contribution

The paper develops a specialized visualization tool for skewed data using multiple plot types, with implementation in R, tailored for data lying on a single line.

Findings

Effective visualization of skewed data using combined plots

Application to synthetic aperture radar image data

Implementation available in R

Abstract

In this work we present a visualization tool specifically tailored to deal with skewed data. The technique is based upon the use of two types of notched boxplots (the usual one, and one which is tuned for the skewness of the data), the violin plot, the histogram and a nonparametric estimate of the density. The data is assumed to lie on the same line, so the plots are compatible. We show that a good deal of information can be extracted from the inspection of this tool; in particular, we apply the technique to analyze data from synthetic aperture radar images. We provide the implementation in R.