[chrisH]

Hi,

[I didn't know where to post this so I figured here would be...casual]

I've been assigned the task of some basic data analysis. The higher ups like to see charts for when I generate the reports. So far, this has worked well. The latest report has me scratching my head about how to present it though.

The report, in some instances, requires me to plot ~50 series of data. Attached is a sample picture of what it could look like if I were to use a bar graph approach. Ugly, right?

What do you think would be the best way to plot a lot of data series?

I might want to add that I am limited to the following (reporting software gives me these options only):
Pie Chart, Bar Graph, Stacked Bar, Line Graph, Area Graph, Stacked Area, Scatter, Bubble, High-low, Candlestick, Gantt, Multiaxis(combining any of the previous options as many times as I like into 1 graph).

Edit: Forgot to attach image.

Attached image(s)

• 

This post has been edited by chrisH: 23 August 2011 - 03:09 PM

[creativecoding]

No idea what sort of data you are presenting, so I'll take a guess at a line graph!

[cfoley]

You really want a single chart that tells the story, or at least the important parts.

How about get the mean and SD of "92.500". Do the same for each of the other categories. This will give you a single line chart with error bars.

If you are looking at trends through time have each category in your key as a series. You can show as few or as many of the series as is useful.

This post has been edited by cfoley: 24 August 2011 - 04:21 AM