PRESENTING STATISTICAL DATA

The purpose of these case studies is to demonstrate your ability to develop relatively routine

presentation graphics for analytical studies. You may refer to Chapter 2-R as needed, or to any

other source. Prepare these as if you were an entry level analytics analyst for an organization, and

are going to present these to a staff meeting of middle managers.

Case Study 2.1

The US government National Center for Education Statistics publishes a “Digest of Education

Statistics” which shows the number of adults 18 years of age and older having attained each level of

academic degree. Find the appropriate website, and produce a pie chart showing the number of

adults age 18 and older in the United States having the following as their highest level of education

attained.

Ph.D.

Master’s Degree

Bachelor’s Degree

Associate’s Degree

Some College, No Degree

High School Degree

No Degree

You are free to build the chart in a way convenient for you as long as the following standards are

met. Upload the spreadsheet and chart to Canvas by the time frame required.

• It must be a form of three-dimensional pie chart.
• It must not use the colors red, yellow, or green for the pie segments.
• Each segment must be labeled with both the number of people in the segment, and the name of the segment. Optionally, labeling can be partly from the chart legend.
• All labeling must be in bold, 12 pitch Arial font.
• The pie chart title must be in bold, 16 pitch Arial font. The title must also convey the year of the data retrieved and the data source; put this in the second line with 12 pitch, bold, Arial font.
• The “message” of the pie chart must be understandable to a viewer within 3-5 seconds of being displayed.

Case Study 2.2

Choose a US-based industry having many competitors. For example, the fast food industry has many competitors, the auto industry has many competitors, as with the tire industry. Build a histogram showing last year’s sales of each of the top five sales leaders in that industry to include the amount of sales for each company. You are free to build the chart in a way convenient for you as long as the following standards are met. Upload the spreadsheet and chart to Canvas by the time frame required.

• It must be a form of two-dimensional histogram (Excel’s “column” chart).
• It must not use the colors red, yellow, or green for the bars.
• Order the companies, left to right, having the highest to lowest sales revenues.
• Each bar must be labeled with both the name of the company and last year’s sales revenue in the bar label. Optionally, labeling can be partly from the chart legend; the chart must have a legend. The legend must be in 10 pitch, bold, Arial font.
• All other labeling must be in bold, 12 pitch Arial font.
• Label the x and y axes.
• The histogram title first line must be in bold, 16 pitch Arial font. The title must also convey the year of the data retrieved and the data source; put this in the second line with 12 pitch, bold, Arial font.
• The histogram “plot area” must be colored or patterned.
• The “message” of the histogram must be understandable to a viewer within 3-5 seconds of being displayed.

• Is the data from the correct source. 2 pts. _____
• Is the chart in the correct format. 1 pt. _____
• Does the chart not use the colors red, yellow, or green for the pie segments or bars. 1 pt. _______
• Are each segment or bar labeled with both the data value and the name. Optionally, labeling can be partly from the chart legend. 2 pts. ______
• Is all required labeling present, and in bold, 12 pitch Arial font. 1 pt. ______
• Is the chart title in bold, 16 pitch Arial font. Does the title must also convey the year of the data retrieved and the data source; put this in the second line with 12 pitch, bold, Arial font. 1 pt. _____
• The “message” of the chart must be understandable to a viewer within 3-5 seconds of being displayed. 1 pt. _____