[R] Plot problems: xlim

[P Ehlers]

While I appreciate the availability of axis.break, I agree with Hadley
in this case. I would provide two plots, with and without the special
point. Or just the density plot and some numbers. Broken axes require
interpretation which is often easier to do using numbers, e.g. the
mean or range (exclusive of x.special) and x.special. Sometimes
simple numbers really do provide a better 'picture'.

Peter Ehlers

Ronnie Babigumira wrote:
> Hadley
> Your point is valid and well taken. However, the break still shows how far off the value is from the distribution (I 
> intend to add a note to draw a readers attention to this). Anyhow, like I said, I will try the two ideas shared on the 
> list and make a note of what works best for me.
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> Ronnie
> hadley wickham wrote:
> 
>>>Without any options, plot.density spreads out nicely, however, naturally, the line I want to add is not plotted since it
>>>is well outside the range automatically determined by plot.density hence the need to add xlim however this produces
>>>something I dont find aesthetically appealing. The plot is squeezed out into a very lean "bell" shape.
>>
>>
>>Using a broken axis is not a good solution to this problem (and there
>>are very few times that using a broken axis is a good idea)
>>
>>It sounds like you are trying to compare a reference value to a
>>distribution.  To do this visually they both need to be on the same
>>scale, so that you can see the distance between the reference value
>>and the distribution.
>>
>>Although it may not be aesthetically pleasing, it is true to the data.
>>
>>Hadley
>>
> 
> 
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