Pie Charts Essay examples -- essays research papers

Pie ChartsAn important single out of decision reservation is having a put down understanding of the information used to base decisions from. Charts support be valuable when a need to represent numerical info would benefit communicating information visually. Some of the roughly important aspects of a good chart are to select the right type of chart (or graph) that raft best characterize the data, also, to keep the design childlike in order for an audience to easily understand the information. One of the most best-selling(predicate) types of charts is the pie chart. The pie chart is used to visually represent the proportional prize of un shared parts to the whole. As the name describes, this is done by representing the numerical par of for each one part as a piece of the whole pie, which in total equates to cytosine%. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (2001) says that pie charts are a good choice when a relatively small amount of parts, peradventure 3 to 7, need to be represented. With any more it becomes difficult to strike off 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 exercise 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 snap fastener and cannot be used to show change in data oer time (para. 4). With the advent of computers, 3D graphs have become somewhat popular, regrettably 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 long time are typically generated by computer software, as a payoff people forget that there is actually a little math involved. To create a pie chart Concordia University (2000) explains that you have to find the total value for the entire category being studied and calculate the percentage for each discussion section or part. Convert the percentage values for each segment into degrees relative to the 360 degrees in the circle. (For example, 12% X 360 degrees = 43 degrees). Then, Draw a circle and d... ...chart should look like with the exception of one rule, the pieces were not arranged from largest to smallest in a clockwise manner. The sizes are mixed, making less clear the relative proportions of the pieces.Pie charts can be an excellent tool for presenting information in a simple, visual and comprehensible manner. If used in the right post and best practices are followed, the pie chart may be the tool that most influences a decision.ReferencesPennsylvania Department of Health. (2001). Pie charts and pictographs. Retrieved January 24, 2005 from, http//www.health.state.pa.us/hpa/stats/ techassist/piechart.htmConcordia University. (2000). Pie chart. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http//web2.concordia.ca/Quality/tools/21piechart.pdfSykes, 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.htmHodges, M. (2004). Grandfather economic report series. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http//mwhodges.home.att.net/fed_budget.htmPerlman, H. (2003). Where is earths water system located? Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http//ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html