Introduction to Excel 2007

Part 3: Bar Graphs and Histograms

Psych 209
Bar Graphs and Histograms
 Although they may look similar, bar graphs
and histograms differ in several important
ways:
1. The types of information they convey
2. The x-axis
3. The y-axis
 Let’s say Instructors 1 and 2 both teach the
same Psych class. You are trying to decide
which instructor to take the class from (based
on the grades they gave last quarter).
 First, you take a look at a bar graph…
1. Types of Information

 Bar graphs compare the mean scores for two or more groups
(i.e., levels of a variable). We can see from the bar graph
above that the average grades given by Instructors 1 and 2
last quarter are identical. We cannot compare the individual
grades given by each instructor, though, to see if they differ in
terms of grade distribution....
 1. Types of Information

 Histograms show the frequency with which a value appears in

the data set (e.g., how many students received a grade of 3.0
from Instructor 1). Thus, histograms represent ALL of the values
found within a given data set. Based on the histograms above,
from which instructor would you choose to take Class A? Why?
2. The x-axis
 The x-axis of a histogram includes the range of
possible scores in the data set. In our example,
students received grades ranging from 2.4 to 4.0, so
the x-axis includes these values.
- NOTE: Even though Instructor 2 gave no grades of 3.0, 3.3, etc.,
ALL consecutive values between 2.4 and 4.0 are included on the
x-axis (you must do the same).
- NOTE: We could have included all values from 0.0 to 4.0, but
this would simply shift the bars in the histogram to the right,
leaving an empty space on the left side of the figure.
 The x-axis of a bar graph simply identifies the levels of
the independent variable (i.e., the groups you wish to
compare: Instructor 1 and Instructor 2).
3. The y-axis
 In 209, the y-axis of a histogram is always labeled
“Frequency,” since it represents a count of how many
times (how frequently) each value appears in the data
set.
- NOTE: The values on the y-axis of a histogram must always be
consecutive whole numbers (e.g., you cannot have a value
appear 2.5 times in a data set, but it can appear 0,1, 2, 3… times).

 The y-axis of a bar graph always represents values of

the variable and must be labeled as such. Since these
values are means, rather than counts, the y-axis does
NOT have to contain only consecutive whole numbers.
 Creating a Bar Graph
Step 1: Enter the following data into Excel. Calculate the means for
Instructor 1 and Instructor 2.
Step 2: Highlight the cells containing the two means, click on the
‘Insert’ tab at the top, and select ‘Column’ under the ‘Charts’ menu.
Step 3: Under the ‘2-D Column’ heading, select ‘Clustered
Column.’
When your graph first appears, it will look kind of funny, and
you will notice there are no chart or axis titles:

Step 4: First remove the legend (‘Series1’) by selecting it and pressing ‘Delete.’
Step 5: Then right-click on the chart and choose ‘Select Data’ from the menu.
Step 6: In the ‘Select Data Source’ dialog box, click on ‘Edit’ under
‘Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels.’ When the ‘Axis Labels’ box appears,
highlight both of your variable names on the spreadsheet and hit OK twice.
Step 7: Now you will add a chart title and y-axis title under the
‘Layout’ tab:

• For ‘Chart Title’ you want the ‘Above Chart’ option. Type your
title and press Enter. (Note for your Excel assignment your title of
the graph is your name and student number)
• For ‘Axis Titles’ add a vertical (y-axis) title by choosing the
‘Rotated Title’ option. Type your title and press Enter.
• NOTE: You could add an x-axis (horizontal) title below your
variable names, as well, but we won’t for this example.
Step 8: The last step is to fix the formatting of the y-axis,
specifically the numbering scale. Right-click on the axis numbers,
then select ‘Format Axis…’ from the drop-down menu.
Change the ‘Minimum’ value to 0.0, the ‘Maximum’ value to 4.0,
and the ‘Major unit’ to 0.5 by first selecting ‘Fixed’ and then
typing in your new values in the boxes. When you have
finished, click ‘Close.’
That’s it! Your bar graph should now have a much more
conventional (normal) appearance than when you first
created it:

We will now turn our attention to creating histograms.

Creating a Histogram
When you create a histogram in Excel, you need to make
“bins.” Bins represent the entire range of values in your data
set, and show how many times each value appears within
your set.

First, let’s consider our variable: GPA is measured on a scale

of 0.0 through 4.0, so we could potentially create bins for
each grade (0.0, 0.1, 0.2….3.9, 4.0).

However, the scores (i.e., grade values) for Instructor 1 only

range from 2.7 to 3.3. If we included bins for 0.0-4.0, we
would have a lot of empty bins (since there are no scores of
0.0, 0.1, etc., represented in the data set.

Instead, we will use a bin range of 2.6 through 3.4, which

includes all of the values in the Instructor 1 data set, as well
as one empty bin on either end of the figure.
NOTE: Whatever bin range you choose, you MUST include
ALL consecutive values between the lowest and highest
score, regardless of whether that value is found in the data
set. For example, even though the data set for Instructor 2
does not contain any grades of 3.3 or 3.4, we must still
include these consecutive values in our histogram.

Now we will create a histogram using the Instructor 1 data set.

Step 1: Create a column for the bins. In this example, our
bin range will be 2.6 through 3.4 (since the lowest grade
value for Instructor 1 is 2.7, and the highest value is 3.3).
This will give us one empty bin on either end of the figure.
However, having one empty bin on either end is not
required for histograms.
Precede each value with a
single quote (‘) when
entering them into the bin
list, as in ‘2.5, ‘2.6, etc.
Ignore any green triangles
or caution signs. These
indicate warnings but will
not affect future
calculations.
Step 2: Histograms depict counts
or frequencies for specific data
values. One way to count specific
frequencies in Excel is to use the
function COUNTIF. Create a label
in cell E1 named “Frequency.” In
cell E2 enter your function:
=COUNTIF(B2:B11,D2).

B2:B11 is the data range we wish

to count.

D2 is the cell that contains the

value we are interested in
counting.

In other words, this function says:

count all values in our list of
grades for Instructor 1 that are
equal to 2.6.

DO NOT PRESS [Enter] YET!

Step 3: Next the formula must be copied for each of the other
bins. When formulas are copied in Excel, cell information gets
updated or changed automatically depending on the location to
which the formula was copied. This is not good when there is
a fixed data range, as with the list of class grades. To prevent
the range of grades from changing, add a $ before each
column letter and row number as illustrated:

Leave D2 unchanged. Remember that D2 contains the criteria

that tells the COUNTIF what to count. We want that to be
different for each bin that is going to be counted.

Now press [Enter] to store your formula. Cell E2 should show a 0

corresponding to no occurrences of that grade in the list of class
grades.
Step 4: Copy the COUNTIF formula from cell E2 through all the cells
in column E down to cell E10. A quick way to do this is to:
•Make sure that cell E2 is selected,
•Move the mouse cursor close to the little square in the lower right
hand corner of the selected cell,
•Press and hold the left mouse button while dragging downward to
the bottom of cell E10. Release the left mouse button once the
correct range has been selected.

Notice how this action formed a frequency table! Click on

different cells in the Frequency column. Notice how the range
specifying the grades to be counted does not change but the
cell changes depending on the row.
Step 5: Select the cells in
the Frequency and Bin
column as illustrated.
Select the Insert tab on the
command bar and click
Column. A drop-down menu
of chart type options will
appear. Select the left-most
option under 2-D Column.
Steps 6-9: A general strategy for cleaning up the chart.

Fix y-axis
units Update title

Delete the
legend

Provide Excel automatically assigned the bin values as

missing axis axis unit labels
titles
Step 6: Remove the legend by selecting it and pressing Delete.
Step 7: Double-click on the chart title and change it to something
more informative. (Note for your Excel assignment your title of the
graph is your name and student number).
Step 8: The scale of your y-axis should NEVER include numbers
with decimal places (remember these are frequencies). Change
your y-axis scale by right-clicking on the numbers and selecting
‘Format Axis…’ Change the Major unit from 0.5 to 1
Step 9: Add axis titles for
both the x and y axes by
selecting the ‘Layout’ tab on
the command bar, clicking
on ‘Axis Titles’, and
selecting the desired title
style. Double-click on each
axis title to activate and
change it. Note that the y-
axis title should always be
“Frequency”.
Your histogram is now complete! If you have time, try creating
one for the Instructor 2 data set.