A Histogram is a column chart that shows the frequency of the occurrences of a variable in the specified range. It is useful for producing data distributions and charts. You can analyze and interpret the distribution of data quickly and easily.
Creating a Histogram in Excel
Excel has an inbuilt Histogram chart option. To add a Histogram chart, follow these steps:
- Select the range of cells.
- On the Insert tab, go to the Charts Group and click the Histogram symbol.
- Click on Histogram.
Result:
To change the bin size and number of bins:
- Right-click on the horizontal axis and click Format Axis.
The format axis pane appears. You can edit the bin width and number of bins.
A bin range is a range of values that specifies the limit for each column of the histogram.
Result:
Creating a Histogram using Data Analysis Toolpak
To create a histogram using the Data Analysis Toolpak, you first need to install the Analysis Toolpak add-in.
To install the Data Analysis Toolpak add-in:
- Click the File tab and then select ‘Options’.
- In the Excel Options dialog box, select Add-ins in the navigation pane.
- In the Manage drop-down, select Excel Add-ins and click Go.
- In the Add-ins dialog box, select Analysis Toolpak and click OK.
This will install the Analysis Toolpak.
Create Histogram
To create a Histogram, follow the steps mentioned below:
- Go to the Data tab and click Data Analysis.
- In the Data Analysis dialog box, select Histogram.
- In the Histogram dialogue box, select the Input range, Bin range, and Output range. Checkmark the chart output.
- Click OK.
The first bin shows all the values below it. In the above case, 20 shows 0 values, which shows that there are 0 employees that are less than age 20.
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FAQs
1) What is the Difference Between a Histogram and a Bar Chart?
Unlike bar charts, which represent categorical data with discrete bars, histograms display continuous data, and the bars are connected to each other, showing the distribution of a dataset.
2) How Do You Determine the Number of Bins in a Histogram?
The number of bins can be chosen based on the size of the data set and the level of detail you want to represent. Common methods include the Sturges, Rice, or Square-root rule, or using software defaults.
3) Are There Any Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making a Histogram?
Yes, common mistakes include choosing inappropriate bin sizes, not labeling axes clearly, and misinterpreting the gaps or peaks in the histogram.
4) Can Histograms Be Used for Both Large and Small Data Sets?
Histograms are versatile and can be used for both large and small data sets, though they are more informative with larger datasets as patterns become more evident.
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned about Histograms in MS Excel. You made a histogram chart and adjusted the value and range of the bin. Histograms are useful when you want to analyze an enormous set of data quickly.
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