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10.2.3: Tech Lab 3

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    63694
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    Tech Lab 3 – Displaying Categorical Data 

    Purpose 

    In this technology lab we learn how to use Excel to construct Frequency Tables, Bar Graphs, and Pie Charts for categorical data. 

    Bar Graphs and Pie Charts 

    When we have categorical/qualitative data, we can create a frequency table and a bar graph where each bar represents one of the categories and the heights of the bars are frequency.   

    You can also create a pie chart which shows the relative frequency of each category as portions of a circle.   

    Part 1 

    These two charts are pretty easy to create in Excel if you already have a frequency table.  See this video for instructions: Pie Charts and Bar Charts in Excel 365 – from a frequency table (4:42). Download the shared Excel file with the data for this tech lab. In the first tab, the blood types of a sample of 200 people are listed in a frequency table. 

    1. Create a bar graph for the data.  Be sure to give it a descriptive title and label both axes. 

      1. Try reordering the data (by sorting by blood type or by frequency) and see that the bar graph updates.  Choose an order that you think makes the most sense.  Why did you choose that order? 

    2. Now create a pie chart for the same data.  Be sure to give it a descriptive title and set the labels in a way that you think is readable. 

    3. Answer these questions in a text box in your Excel file: 

      1. Why did you choose the order you did for the bar chart? 

      2. Is there an advantage to using a bar graph vs. pie chart or vice versa? 

      3. Explain the real world significance or interpretation of these charts (assuming the data is representative of the wider population). 

    Part 2 

    If your categorical data isn’t already in a frequency table, you can use a “COUNTIF” function to create a frequency table first.  You can see how it’s done in this video: Pie Charts and Bar Charts in Excel 365 - from raw categorical data (6:03).  Open the Denver Airbnb Listings tab from the same Excel file in Part 1. This is a partial data set including some key variables collected from all Airbnb listings in Denver, CO.  (Source is in the Excel file). There are several variables in this data set, but you’ll focus here on the Room Type categorical variable. 

    1. Create a frequency table for the room types (there should be 4 categories, check the filter to see what they are). 

    1. Use your frequency table to create a bar graph AND pie chart like you did in the first practice problem.  Be sure to include descriptive titles and labels for both. 

    1. In a text box, explain in a couple of sentences what you see in the pie chart and bar graph. Include the real-world context of the data as well as whether you think the pie chart or bar graph is more effective to visualize this particular variable. 


    10.2.3: Tech Lab 3 is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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