Choosing the Right Chart Type

Summary

Matching the chart to the question — trends over time want a line chart, comparisons want a bar chart, parts of a whole want a (careful) pie or stacked bar, relationships want a scatter plot.

• 1Take 5 different business questions and match each to an appropriate chart type.
• 2Critique a chart you've seen that used the wrong type for its data.
• 3Learn why pie charts fall apart with more than 4-5 categories.