The graphics they are a way of showing information through the use of a drawing, which gives the viewer an easy way to understand what is being exposed. In addition, they are very useful when you have to publish statistics, compare quantities and express trends, since the data they present is usually numerical.
They are commonly used to represent functional relationships between numerical variables or when you have a significant amount of statistical data. For this reason, they can be found both in school work, as well as in business presentations and financial reports, among others..
There are different types of graphs, each with particular characteristics, which help to represent the data with greater fidelity. However, if they are not correctly reflected or mistakes are made when entering the data, they can impair the understanding of the information..
In most cases, the most commonly used charts are made up of two axes and a body, as in line charts, pictograms, and bar charts. However, other types of graphs can also be found, such as flow charts, or cartograms, in which other methods of construction and presentation of information are used..
In general, to represent the graphs resources such as lines, points, vectors, bars, maps and symbols are used. Additionally, the representations can be built in two or three dimensions, which extends the palette of resources much more for the elaboration of the same..
Article index
The graphs serve to visually present data on the behavior of one or more variables, of which there is a large amount of numerical information collected, in relation to a time frame or other data.
The ease with which the data represented in a graph is interpreted, with respect to a numerical table, makes it very useful for many sectors, ranging from student to business. This is largely due to the possibility they offer to access large blocks of information quickly, through a visual representation..
Likewise, graphs are necessary when displaying the collected data and contrasting them with each other in a quantitative investigation. This allows the researcher to draw conclusions from the observation of the graphs and present the results of his research project.
They are not only used to represent data, but also help to visualize trends and patterns of behavior, which benefits the understanding of some circumstances with greater clarity.
You can choose between different techniques and formats for displaying the data. The selection of the type of graph will depend on the results that you want to show through the graphical representation..
For example, if you need to check the price change of a product over a period of time, you can use a line graph. Or in the case of wanting to represent the percentages obtained by each party in an election, you can use a pie chart.
These are some characteristics of the graphs:
The most commonly used types of graphs are:
Its reading and understanding is simple, since they only consist of two axes, one vertical or Y axis, and the other horizontal or X axis. The items to be compared are located on one of the axes, and the items to be compared are displayed on the other. values of each.
They are a derivation of bar graphs, the difference they have is that in this type of graph you only see the alteration of a variable with respect to the data being analyzed..
They have the peculiarity that there is no separation between the bars.
Pie charts, also called pie charts, represent the percentages of a total. They are made by dividing a circumference into portions, where the size of each portion is proportionally related to the percentage that you want to show.
As it is a circumference, the sum of the areas of all the portions must be equal to 360 degrees.
Like bar charts, these are built on two axes. Normally, the X axis corresponds to a measure of time, and the Y axis to the changes of the other variable.
They are made by marking points at the heights corresponding to the intersection of the two analysis variables. These points are joined by a line, which makes it easier for the observer to read them..
This type of graph allows you to present data on multiple measurements of the same variable on the Y axis. This is achieved by using different colors to differentiate the lines..
In the scatter charts, the representation of the measured variables is made by using two axes, one vertical and the other horizontal, which have different scales. Each observation is represented on the graph with a point, marking the relationship that exists between the two referenced variables for the same phenomenon.
It is convenient to use them when you have a large number of observations.
Area charts are used to see the behavior of two or more variables in a period of time.
For its preparation two axes are used, one vertical and the other horizontal. Time measurements are arranged on the horizontal axis, and the values of each variable are located on the vertical axis..
In the first place, the one with the highest value is put and the points are joined by lines or curves, then the other variables are added, from highest to lowest. For a better visualization the resulting areas between the curves are painted with different colors.
Cartograms are used when data derived from a study have to be represented, on a particular region.
They are expressed in the form of a map, but with the particularity that the size of each region does not have to do with its physical measurements, but rather depends on the value of the variable to be represented. It is for this reason that they can be confusing when trying to interpret them..
They can be used to describe the number of inhabitants per city, the income per capita per individual, among others..
In the pictograms the representation of the data is done through symbols or images, which symbolize the variable that is being exposed.
The ease of interpreting an image, with respect to numerical data, makes it more attractive to the general public.
They are used when multiple variables and categories need to be compared in the same graph.
These graphs are used to represent data, such as the age and gender of a population..
They are built dividing the horizontal axis in half, to separate by gender, and the ages or ranges of the same are located on the vertical axis..
They are built using radial axes referenced to the same origin, which have a scale with fixed values for all variables. They can be of three or more variables, which generates a regular polygon.
For the construction of the graph, the values of the variables are located on the axes and the points are joined by straight lines, producing an irregular polygon shape..
They are the most used to represent financial data, on the horizontal axis time is expressed, generally days, months or years, and on the vertical axis values or percentages.
With the passage of time and the variations of the values, a line is represented in which you can easily see the ups and downs of the market.
In general terms, they are used in the representation of production processes, in turn, they are made up of logical connectors, which introduce modifications in the flow of the road. These logical connectors are assigned different options, which depend on the process that is being carried out.
This graphic allows the optimization of jobs that have to be carried out simultaneously for the completion of a project.
It consists of a horizontal axis, where the measurement of time is located, and another vertical, in which the processes are described..
Control charts are useful when you need to check whether a variable exceeds pre-established limits.
On a horizontal axis the measure of time is expressed, and on another vertical two continuous lines are drawn, whose heights will be the maximum and minimum value that the variable can have. Between these lines the movements of the variable in time are represented.
It is used mainly for finance, since the transformation of an initial value is easily reflected, to which positive and negative values are added..
Similar to flowcharts, hierarchy diagrams are used to explain an organization's chain of command, from the lowest to the leader..
They are like flowcharts, the difference lies in the fact that the logical connectors only have two possibilities.
As its name says, it is basically a timeline, in which milestones are marked on the dates when they occurred..
They are constructed in a similar way to pie charts, the difference lies in the fact that it contains concentric rings, which are descending in hierarchy from the center outwards..
They are the combination of the bar graph and the linear one, the bars are placed from highest to lowest.
The three-dimensional graphs present in their construction an additional axis, generally called Z, to the traditional X and Y. The Z axis not only generates the sensation of depth in the graph, but also allows another variable to be introduced to the graph.
Here are some examples of the different types of graphs:
This example describes the admission of refugees by the United States from 1975 to 2019.
On the X axis (horizontal) are the dates, separated by year, and on the Y axis (vertical) there is the variable of number of people.
Each bar means the number of refugees that entered the United States per year..
In this flowchart it can be seen that when the variable X reaches the diamond-shaped logical connector it has two options, if the value of X is 1, it goes directly to the end of the process.
On the other hand, if the value of X is not equal to 1, it goes through a process that subtracts 1 from the value of X, and is compared again until that value is equal to 1.
This cartogram is a representation of the world population in 2002. The almost unrecognizable shape of the world map is due to the fact that in the cartograms the sizes of the countries do not correspond to their physical measurements, but to the number of inhabitants they have..
In this graph you can see the difference between the designated budget (blue color), and the actual expense (orange color) of the different departments of a company. By using this graph, it is possible to clearly detect which departments are exceeding their expenses and which are not..
Graphic organizer.
Yet No Comments