multiplots

Multiplots, or multi-panel plots, are figures that present several plots within a single composite image. They are used to enable side-by-side comparison across different variables, groups, or time points and are common in exploratory data analysis as well as formal reporting.

Construction and methods: Multiplots can be created by arranging individual plots into a grid or via a facetting mechanism that generates panels from a dataset. In practice, common tools include grid-based layout functions in R (such as gridExtra or cowplot), and in Python (matplotlib subplots, seaborn facetting). Some workflows rely on a dedicated multiplot function that takes a set of plot objects and a layout specification; others use facetting to produce panels from one data source with shared axes and scales.

Design considerations: Effective multiplots use panels with consistent scales where appropriate, uniform fonts, and clear axis labels. Legends may be consolidated or placed to minimize redundancy. The overall layout should balance panel size and caption clarity, and authors should decide whether axes are shared or independent and how to annotate each panel.

Applications and limitations: Multiplots are particularly useful for comparing distributions, time series, or relationships across groups or variables within a single figure. They save page space and aid comparison, but too many panels can reduce readability. When overusing multiplots, consider splitting results into multiple figures or employing alternative visualization methods to preserve interpretability.

See also: small multiples, facet grid, panel chart, grid layout.