Department of Reasonable Doubt
Chart-reading checklist
Before you share a chart.
Purpose Turn a visual impression into a proportionate conclusion. A compact companion to FM–001: Reading charts and their claims.
- Name the exact claim.What does the headline or caption invite me to believe?
- Read every label.What is measured? In what units? Who or what is included?
- Find the source.Who made the chart? Can I locate the dataset, report, or original record?
- Check the time period.Is the range long enough? Could seasonality or the selected start date matter?
- Check the scale.Where do the axes start? Are intervals equal? Do size, color, or area exaggerate differences?
- Ask what is compared.Is there a useful baseline, prior period, per-person rate, or control comparison?
- Look for uncertainty.Are sample size, error, missing data, revisions, or variation reported?
- Separate association from cause.Does the chart show a change after something happened—or evidence that it caused the change?
- State a limited conclusion.What is known, unknown, and still worth checking?
sus.ong · FM–002 / Rev 01 · Educational project in formation
Document record
· Revision 01: adopted the standard document header and monochrome format; nine inspection questions retained. Revision numbering starts with this edition.
Supporting explanations and sources: chart lesson · source-tracing guide.
Independent editorial review remains outstanding. Department names are fictional editorial identities, not staffing claims. This screen-only record is omitted from the compact print sheet.