What is a chart?

A chart is a visual representative of data in both columns and rows. Charts are usually used to
analyze trends and patterns in data sets.

Example:

Item 2012 2013 2014 2015

Desktop Computers 20 12 13 12
Laptops 34 45 40 39
Monitors 12 10 17 15
Printers 78 13 90 14

The following table shows some of the most commonly used charts and when you should
consider using them.

CHART WHEN SHOULD

S/N EXAMPLE
TYPE I USE IT?

When you want

to quantify
Pie
1 items and show
Chart
them as
percentages.

When you want

to compare
Bar values across a
2
Chart few categories.
The values run
horizontally
 When you want
to compare
Colum values across a
3
chart few categories.
The values run
vertically

When you want

to visualize
Line trends over a
4
chart period of time
i.e. months,
days, years, etc.

When you want

Combo to highlight
5
Chart different types
of information

The importance of charts

 Allows you to visualize data graphically
 It's easier to analyse trends and patterns in the charts
 Easy to interpret compared to data in cells
8 Types of Charts
 Column Charts in Excel
 Line Chart in Excel
 Pie Chart in Excel
 Bar Chart in Excel
 Area Chart in Excel
 Scatter Chart in Excel
 Stock Chart in Excel
 Radar Chart in Excel

Column Chart: when you want to compare two to four data series

Line chart: Line charts when you want to show/focus on data trends (uptrend, downtrend, short term
trend, sideways trend, long term) especially long term trends (i.e. changes over several months or years)
between the values of the data series

Pie Chart: Pie Chart that is capable of representing only one series of data and if you want to show a
100% composition of data.

Bar Chart: Bar chart whenever the axis labels are too long to fit in a column chart.

Area Chart: Area chart when you want to show the trend of composition and emphasize the magnitude
of change over time

Scatter chart: Scatter chart when you want to analyse and report the relationship/correlation between
two variables.

Combo chart: combination chart is simply a combination of two or more charts. For example the
combination of a column chart with a line chart.

Stock Chart: Stock charts are useful to show fluctuations in stock prices. These charts are useful to show
fluctuations in other data also, such as daily rainfall or annual temperatures.

Radar Chart: Radar charts compare the aggregate values of several data series.