Type of Graph Advantages Disadvantages Circle Graph -compares “part to whole” -does not show actual amount or number data is displayed as a percent for each category -size of sector can be easily -more difficult to draw compared to other sectors data must have “part to whole” relationship -too many categories makes it look crowded Line Graph -shows change over a period of time -limited to continuous data -can easily see trends -may be difficult to read accurately depending on scale -can be used to interpolate and extrapolate -comparisons between categories are not identified as quickly -easy to draw Bar Graph -shows number of items in specific -may be difficult to read accurately categories depending on scale -easy to compare data -trends are identifiable but not for purposes of interpolating and extrapolating -easy to draw Histogram -displays the shape of distribution -cannot read exact values -trends are easily recognizable -more difficult to compare two data sets -frequency count of items in each -used only with continuous data bin
Type of Graph Advantages Disadvantages Circle Graph -compares “part to whole” data is displayed as a percent -size of sector can be easily compared to other sectors -does not show actual amount or number for each category -more difficult to draw data must have “part to whole” relationship -too many categories makes it look crowded Line Graph -shows change over a period of time -can easily see trends -can be used to interpolate and extrapolate -easy to draw -limited to continuous data -may be difficult to read accurately depending on scale -comparisons between categories are not identified as quickly Bar Graph -shows number of items in specific categories -easy to compare data -easy to draw -may be difficult to read accurately depending on scale -trends are identifiable but not for purposes of interpolating and extrapolating Histogram -displays the shape of distribution -trends are easily recognizable -frequency count of items in each bin -cannot read exact values -more difficult to compare two data sets -used only with continuous data