Some tools that will help us compare numbers are graphs. Like pie graphs, bar graphs, scatter plots, line charts, histograms, etc. Many other types of structures will help us to compare numbers or data. However, I am mainly focusing on bar graphs and pie graphs. Bar charts or bar graphs represent categorical data using rectangular bars whose lengths or heights correspond to the values they represent. Vertical or horizontal bars can be plotted. Vertical bar charts are also known as column charts. A pie chart illustrates numerical proportions by dividing a circle into slices. Pie charts represent quantities by arcs whose lengths are proportional to their width. Also, another tool you can use is called Tableau. This service offers several options, including a desktop application, a server version, and a hosted version, as well as a free public version. CSV files, Google Adwords and Analytics data, Salesforce data, and many other data import options are available. A variety of chart formats and mapping capabilities are available as output options. As a result, designers can create color-coded maps that showcase geographically relevant data in a format that’s much easier to understand than a table or chart. Anyone looking for a powerful tool to create data visualizations that can be used in a variety of settings can use Tableau’s free public version. Whether you are a journalist or a political junkie or just want to quantify your data, Tableau Public can be used by anyone. They have a large gallery of infographics and visualizations created with the public version that can be used as inspiration for your own. In addition to creating charts and graphs, Tableau lets you create maps. If you want to create visualizations that are accessible to the public, Tableau Public is a great tool to use.

An Example from Tableau

TV’s Sci-Fi DataVerse by Heather Cox