Pie Charts
Pie Charts
An important part of decision making is having a clear understanding of the information used to base decisions from. Charts can be valuable when a need to represent numerical data would benefit communicating information visually. Some of the most important aspects of a good chart are to select the right type of chart (or graph) that can best characterize the data, also, to keep the design simple in order for an audience to easily understand the information.
One of the most popular types of charts is the pie chart. The pie chart is used to visually represent the proportional value of individual parts to the whole. As the name describes, this is done by representing the numerical equivalence of each part as a piece of the whole pie, which in total equates to 100%. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (2001) says that pie charts are a good choice when a relatively small amount of parts, perhaps 3 to 7, need to be represented. With any more it becomes difficult to notice the differences in magnitude; thus, the pie chart loses its simplicity and impact. They can only be used when a total amount is known, one such example would be an election where the total of votes received by all candidates equals 100% of the votes. Or a budget where the total amount spending is divided in to categories such as labor, facilities costs, advertising, etc which always are a part of the total. However, according to McBride (2003), the pie chart could not be used to show a change in spending through out a period. A pie chart shows data at one instance, like a snapshot and cannot be used to show change in data over time (para. 4). With the advent of computers, 3D graphs have become somewhat popular, unfortunately a negative aspect is that they add complexity to the image and can distort visual proportional value. It is recommended to stick with flat "2D" charts (para. 6).
Pie charts these days are typically generated by computer software, as a result people forget that
An important part of decision making is having a clear understanding of the information used to base decisions from. Charts can be valuable when a need to represent numerical data would benefit communicating information visually. Some of the most important aspects of a good chart are to select the right type of chart (or graph) that can best characterize the data, also, to keep the design simple in order for an audience to easily understand the information.
One of the most popular types of charts is the pie chart. The pie chart is used to visually represent the proportional value of individual parts to the whole. As the name describes, this is done by representing the numerical equivalence of each part as a piece of the whole pie, which in total equates to 100%. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (2001) says that pie charts are a good choice when a relatively small amount of parts, perhaps 3 to 7, need to be represented. With any more it becomes difficult to notice the differences in magnitude; thus, the pie chart loses its simplicity and impact. They can only be used when a total amount is known, one such example would be an election where the total of votes received by all candidates equals 100% of the votes. Or a budget where the total amount spending is divided in to categories such as labor, facilities costs, advertising, etc which always are a part of the total. However, according to McBride (2003), the pie chart could not be used to show a change in spending through out a period. A pie chart shows data at one instance, like a snapshot and cannot be used to show change in data over time (para. 4). With the advent of computers, 3D graphs have become somewhat popular, unfortunately a negative aspect is that they add complexity to the image and can distort visual proportional value. It is recommended to stick with flat "2D" charts (para. 6).
Pie charts these days are typically generated by computer software, as a result people forget that
References: Pennsylvania Department of Health. (2001). Pie charts and pictographs. Retrieved January 24, 2005 from, http://www.health.state.pa.us/hpa/stats/ techassist/piechart.htm Concordia University. (2000). Pie chart. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://web2.concordia.ca/Quality/tools/21piechart.pdf Sykes, A., & Smith, B. (1999). Getting started – A simple pie chart. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://www.causeway.co.uk/tutorial/rainpro/apl99/dyalog/start.htm Hodges, M. (2004). Grandfather economic report series. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://mwhodges.home.att.net/fed_budget.htm Perlman, H. (2003). Where is earth 's water located? Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html