Setting Up Your Data
Before you can make a histogram in Excel, you’ll first need to set up your data. Make sure your data is organized in a column and that all the relevant data is included. You’ll also need to label your columns with the appropriate labels.
Once your data is ready, you can start making the histogram:
Enter your data into an Excel spreadsheet
Creating a histogram requires you to enter your data into an Excel spreadsheet. Open your spreadsheet and type your data into individual columns. Alternatively, click and drag cells or entire rows to get them into the proper order.
To make the process of using Excel easier, create individual columns for each variable that you are studying. Start with a column for labels and then create a new column for each variable. To label the data, use titles that clearly identify what kind of information is stored in each column. For example:
- Class Year (2021, 2022 etc.)
- Number of Books Read (from 0-10)
- GPA (from 0-4)
Make sure that the data is numerical and in chronological order beginning with the oldest data at the top of each column. If necessary, convert categorical data into numeric values before entering it into Excel to ensure that it can be analyzed accurately when creating a histogram. Once all the information is entered correctly, click the “File” tab in Excel’s ribbon to save your workbook name so you can easily find it again when creating your histogram.
Select the data you want to represent in the histogram
Open your Excel spreadsheet and select the data cells you want to represent in the histogram. Be sure to start with the upper left cell and drag to select all the cells containing data. The values should come from a single row from left-most columns of your data table, or from a single column from top-most rows at the bottom of your data table.
Make sure that all of your values are truly numeric before making a histogram; no text or non-numeric characters should be included in your selection, otherwise an error will arise when attempting to create the chart. You may filter out any unwanted data points with Microsoft’s Filter option beforehand as well.
Once you have selected the desired cells, click on “Insert” and select “Histogram” under Charts in Excel 2007 & 2010, or under Recommended Charts in Excel 2013 & 2016.
Creating the Histogram
Creating a histogram in Excel is really easy and can be done with just a few clicks. The process involves selecting the data that you want to create a histogram for, and then using the built-in histogram chart option to generate the graph.
Let’s look at the steps involved in creating a histogram in Excel in more detail:
Select the Insert tab
Once the data is organized in a worksheet, the next step to make a histogram chart is to select an appropriate chart type. To select the right chart type we need to access the Insert tab. To do this, click on the “Insert” tab located at the ribbon on top of the window. The Insert tab holds all kinds of graphical elements, such as charts, images and other design elements.
In this case, among all available options we need to choose a column chart in order to make a histogram with Excel. Click on “Column” and then “Histogram“.
Make sure that your data range includes labels because they will become part of the visualization and are very important for better readability of your histogram.
Click on the Histogram chart icon
Once you’ve inputted your data into the spreadsheet, click on the Insert tab located at the top of the screen. On this menu, you’ll find a selection of graph options that allow you to turn your data points into a visual format. To make a histogram, click on the icon labeled Histogram.
A panel labeled Charts will open on the right side of the screen displaying different types of histograms. Select the type that best suits your purposes and aligns with the format provided by Excel at this point. The panel will then explain what each component of a basic histogram represents – from cluster width to vertical axis – as well as offer suggested graph titles and captions.
To complete this step, click OK to insert your data points into your histogram chart or select cancel if you’re not sure about it yet and want to refine your presentation further. You can customize your chart further by using some of Excel’s formatting tools located in the Design tab -> Chart Styles category or make use of Excel’s Save As option to export an image file for use in an external document such as a blog post or presentation slides.
Configure the chart settings
Once the data is entered, the spreadsheet is ready to be transformed into a histogram. To enter the configuration menu, select ‘Chart Tools > Design > Chart Options’. This menu will allow you to fine-tune the chart’s settings. Begin by selecting ‘Data Labels’ and using this setting to assign either a percentage or an actual number to each bar on the chart – whichever option yields greater clarity of information for your readers.
Once labels are added, seek out ‘Axis Options’ in order to adjust format settings for the X-axis (horizontal) and Y-axis (vertical). The X-axis houses categories associated with your data set and should begin at zero if you’d like an accurate representation of your data visually; customizing its appearance through font, line weight and direction can be done here as well. Finally, check the “Gridlines” checkbox in order to add visual divisions between values on your chart. The addition of gridlines will help users interpret quantitative trends in your histogram without forcing them to only interpret visual cues – providing them with all available information will give greater accuracy when analyzing its content.
Customizing the Histogram
Making a histogram in Excel is a great way to display visual data. Once you have the initial histogram created, you can customize it to make it more accurate and visually appealing. This guide will provide tips and tricks on how to make a customized histogram in Excel.
Change the chart type
If you would like to make changes to the type of chart that is shown, you can change it from the Format Chart Type menu in the ribbon. A histogram requires two variables or variables on the x-axis and frequencies on the y-axis.
After adding a dataset to Excel, be sure that your data is in numerical order before starting. For example, rather than having dates listed by month (January, February, March), they should be listed chronologically (1/1/2018 – 12/31/2018).
Once your data is ready to go, click on your chart then select ‘Change Chart Type’ from the ribbon menu under Design. From this menu you can choose a variety of different chart types such as line graph or column graph. Set your histogram accordingly and then format it as desired.
You can customize various parts of your chart such as its title, width of bars and labels by selecting them from the corresponding tabs in the ribbon menu.
Change the chart title
A chart title adds emphasis and clarity to a graph. As the creator of a histogram, you can use a chart title to communicate the main point of your data quickly and effectively. The title can be customized for each graph regardless of the visualization used, such as bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts and histograms.
To customize a title for a histogram in Microsoft Excel, you first need to enter your data onto the worksheet. Once your data has been entered into columns or rows on the worksheet, click on your histogram chart so that it is highlighted in blue. Then select the Chart Design tab at the top of your screen. From there, select “Add Chart Element” and click “Chart Title,” which will add a default title (e.g., “Histogram”) to your graph. To make modifications to this default title (e.g., “Employee Changes by Region”), double-click on the chart’s current name to open up a text box where you can edit it directly by typing over it with another choice of words or phrases that better summarize the purpose of your chart’s data.
Add labels and data markers
Once you’ve created your histogram, you can customize it by adding data labels and markers. Data labels allow you to label the individual bars on your histogram, so it’s easier for readers to interpret the scale. Markers also help make reading the histogram easier by providing visual clues about where each bar stands in relation to the others.
To add data labels, first click on the bar graph. Then, click “Chart Tools” and select “Layout” from the toolbar. In the “Labels” section, select “Data Labels” and choose the type of labels you’d like to use; here we will select “Value”. Finally, check off “Show Label” or “Show Value” if desired.
To add markers, first select “Chart Tools.” Next, choose “Layout” from the toolbar and then select Scatter or Line in the Drop-down box located in Series Options; here we will select Line. You can then choose a style of line that best fits with your presentation as well as customize its color and other properties as desired. After making any necessary changes to your markers, click OK and they should be applied to your chart!
Analyzing the Histogram
A histogram is a powerful tool for data analysis, which can quickly show patterns and trends. Creating a histogram in Excel is quite straightforward, and after you have created one, you can analyze the results with a few simple steps.
In this article, we will cover all the steps necessary to analyze the histogram and better understand the data:
- Step 1: Select the data to be analyzed.
- Step 2: Create the histogram.
- Step 3: Calculate the mean, median, and mode of the data.
- Step 4: Determine the range of the data.
- Step 5: Analyze the shape of the histogram.
Identify the mode
When analyzing the histogram, the mode is used to explain the most frequently occurring number of a given set of data. The mode is determined by identifying the peak of a histogram – the tallest bar. It will represent the most common value within that set of data.
To make a histogram in Microsoft Excel, start by entering your data into two columns: one for your input numbers and another for their frequency or number of occurrences on an adjacent column. Next, select both sets of data and click “Insert” followed by “Column” then “Histogram” from the toolbar menu. By default, this will create a vertical column chart which can then be adjusted to represent a meaningful frequency distribution with adjustments to labels, units, intervals and other related options.
After you have created your histogram, take note of which bar is taller than all others; this indicates where the mode occurs on your chart.
Identify the median
When analyzing a histogram, it is important to identify the median, or midpoint of the data set. To do this in Excel, it is possible to use the FREQUENCY function. The first argument of this function is the range of data and the second argument is a range of intervals into which you want your data classified.
For example, if there are ten items in your data set and you’d like to classify them along five intervals, each interval would span two items in your data set. When done correctly, this will produce a listing of how often each classification displays in your histogram. The median is determined by adding together the two middlemost numbers (or summing all numbers within each interval).
Once you’ve established the median value(s), interpreting your histogram becomes much easier. It will clearly show if there are more values towards one end than another; indicating that there might be an outlier or gap in your data set. By looking at the shape of the histogram and its relation to the median value(s), conclusions can be drawn about skewness or uniformity within your dataset as well as its outliers or gaps.
Identify the range
Before getting started with making a histogram, the data to be graphed needs to be organized and understood. To identify the range of data, separate it into two parts – the largest value and the smallest value. The range of values will represent how wide or narrow the histogram is, as well as how detailed you need to be for organizing your individual data points.
If a narrower range means more detail needs to be taken into account when constructing a histogram, then it might be best to attempt organizing in categories rather than individual features. Going through each part of the data set, identify what is its highest and lowest values so that identifying an appropriate range for conversion can begin more easily. This will help in crafting a good representation of the entire data set by allowing you to focus on key elements rather than minutiae.