Page 37 - DCAP101_BASIC_COMPUTER_SKILLS

Basic Computer Skills

Notes

Graphical Representation of Data

nce we have data organized in tabular form we can represent it as a graph. We
are going to build a basic histogram (also called, for the time being, a bar graph
Oor frequency distribution graph) using Excel Chart Wizard. Again, there are
numerous approaches to building and modifying graphs; the method shown below is just
one, and not necessarily the most correct, easiest, or clearest for everyone.
Mechanics of constructing a basic histogram

1. Highlight values in the frequency (/) column (don’t include the total), E3:E9, and click
on the chart wizard icon. (Now might be a good time to turn on the ScreenTips
associated with the cursor. The command is in Tools-Customize-Option. ScreenTips
are sometimes handy when constructing graphs. The tips show themselves about 1.5
seconds after you point to items such as an icon.

2. In Chart Wizard Step 1, select Standard Types, Column (you can play with Custom
Charts at your leisure). Select the upper left box. Then use “next” to go to Step 2.
Or you can double click on the box to go to the next step.

Standard Types Custom Types
t
Chart type: Chart sub- ype:
Bar
Line
Pie
XY (Scatter)
Area
Doughnut
Radar
Surface
Bubble
Stock

3. Step 2 in Chart Wizard causes problems for some students. You have the start of
graph but there is much to do to get it just the way we want it.

Contd...

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