Learn everything you need to know about exploratory data analysis, a method used to analyze and summarize data sets. Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is used by data scientists to analyze and investigate data sets and summarize their main characteristics, often employing data visualization methods.
Statistical graphics focus on specific techniques that are graphically based and hones in on one aspect of the data characterization. In contrast, exploratory data analysis is an overall philosophy on dissecting and interpreting a data set, using several of the same techniques as statistical graphics.
Any exploratory graph should be interpretable as a model check, a comparison to ‘the expected.’ This implies that when constructing such graphs we should be able to figure out what is the model being used as a basis of comparison.
Springer ISBN 978-1-4612-9371-2 Andrienko, N & Andrienko, G (2005) Exploratory Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Data. A Systematic Approach. Springer. ISBN 3-540-25994-5 Cook, D. and Swayne, D.F. (with A. Buja, D. Temple Lang, H. Hofmann, H. Wickham, M. Lawrence) (2007-12-12). Interactive and Dynamic Graphics for Data Analysis: With R and GGobi.