Reporting Without Misleading Graphs or Conclusions

To report without misleading graphs or conclusions, clearly separate fact, interpretation and hypothesis, and use visual forms that preserve scale, context and uncertainty. Measures are only valuable when they support decisions, learning and action, so reports must keep context and make consumer impact visible rather than merely displaying data.

• Label definitions, sources and periods on every report, and make the result and the decision it supports visible to everyone who depends on it.
• Use consistent scales. Truncating axes for drama is the first pitfall the article names, and good practice should make that failure less likely or easier to detect.
• Explain material context and test conclusions against alternative causes. In the article's example, a report notes that performance improved after a change but does not claim causation until demand and staffing effects have been examined.
• Avoid implying causation from correlation and selecting only favourable periods; both distort the evidence behind a claim.
• Track report correction rate, reader comprehension and evidence-to-claim quality as a set, with agreed baselines, named data sources and owners. A stronger headline is not enough if quality, risk or consumer effort deteriorates elsewhere, so review trends with both providers and consumers.