Determining How to Visually Represent Data
This summary sheet provides an overview of common charting options at your disposal. Again, note which charts are associated with each data type.
Choosing the appropriate graph is an important step in clearly communicating the data to an
audience. Below are a few suggestions to get you started in this process. While building your
graphs, you may choose to use the "recommended chart" feature in Excel, which will use your
data to suggest the appropriate chart type.
Pie Charts
Pie Charts are useful when showing parts of a whole. They can present clear general findings, but smaller differences may be difficult to perceive. Pie charts should only be used when representing a relatively small data set, consisting of no more than five or six categories.
Bar Graphs
Bar Graphs are used to show a direct comparison of data. Bar graphs can be horizontal or
vertical.
Clustered Bar Graphs
Clustered Bar Graphs display more than one data series within the bar graph. It is important to
consider the clarity of the chart when clustering data in this format. This type of chart is useful
when comparing different groups of data within the same axis.
Stacked Bar Graphs
Stacked Bar Graphs include bars that are made up of segmented categories. These graphs can
make direct comparisons between the segmented categories challenging if the differences are
not extreme.
Line Graphs
Line Graphs show change over time. This is a useful way to demonstrate a larger number of data points when a significant amount of time has lapsed. Note, the x-axis is typically the time category.
Source: Megan Haskins, https://auburn.app.box.com/s/02iai5nirhbsv46zgk5xutz90f0i7rkp
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