Charting Data in Sheets
Learn to create and interpret line, bar, scatter, and pie charts in Google Sheets to turn data into a visual story.
It’s time to present our data effectively. So far, we’ve successfully collected, cleaned, and explored our data. We’ve used functions to count things, calculate averages, and find patterns. But imagine trying to explain all those insights to someone using just a huge table of numbers. It would be tough, right?
That’s where data visualization comes in. Think of it as painting a picture with our data. Instead of just seeing the numbers, we can see the story they’re trying to tell.
Data visualization
Imagine describing a complex weather pattern using only numbers, or explaining the spread of a new product across different regions with just a list of sales figures. It’s incredibly challenging generally, but it becomes instantly clear with a visual.
Data visualization is the art and science of presenting data visually, such as charts, graphs, and maps. This practice helps us in several significant ways:
First, it allows us to understand patterns quickly, making it easy to spot trends, outliers, and relationships that might be hidden in raw numbers. We’ve already calculated correlations and summary statistics; visualization helps us see them.
Secondly, it empowers us to communicate insights effectively, enabling us to share our findings with others in an easy-to-understand and memorable way. This makes our analytical work impactful.
Finally, data visualization helps us make decisions by clearly presenting the big picture, leading to better and faster choices based on evidence.
For our first steps into creating these visual stories, we’ll use Google Sheets’ built-in charting and formatting tools. Sheets allows us to create various charts and apply formatting to highlight key insights without any coding. Think of it as our digital canvas for data: simple, accessible, and powerful enough to tell meaningful stories with our numbers.
Basic plot types
Just like learning to draw involves starting with basic shapes, learning to visualize data begins with understanding fundamental chart types. Each type is best suited for telling a different story with our data, building on the ...