Relationship
Connected scatterplot
Connects successive XY observations to show how a relationship evolves.
- Plot
- Relationship
- Trend over time
What it answers
How does the relationship evolve in sequence?
- Shape
- XY points connected in sequence
- What it shows
- Loops, direction changes and time-dependent association.
Example
The question
How have price and units sold moved together year by year?
Average price against units sold, 2016 to 2025
Illustrative data. It belongs to no company.
When to use it
Use it when
Showing trajectories through two changing measurements.
Avoid it when
Unordered observations or when connectors imply a nonexistent path.
How to read it
Read XY positions and follow arrows or sequence labels.
Note
Connecting order must be explicit.
The data you need
- Layout
- Long table
- Fields
- Sequence: ordered number/date; X: number; Y: number
- One row is
- One paired XY measurement at one sequence position. What is the grain?
- Rules
- Sort by Sequence rather than X. X and Y must be numeric.
- Optional
- Optional Series for multiple paths.
- Preparation
- Pair X and Y by observation and sort by explicit time/sequence, not by X.
- Units
- Time uses a stated date/time unit and sampling period; the value axis uses the measure's unit. Rates need their own explicit denominator.
Worked example
Points(t 1:2,10),(t 2:4,100),(t 3:6,50). Connect by time. Y rises sharply then falls while X keeps increasing.
| Sequence | X | Y |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | 100 |
| 3 | 6 | 50 |