Step-by-step guide to making a simple graph in Google Sheets Mariëlle Hoefnagels, University of Oklahoma

Transcription

1 Step-by-step guide to making a simple graph in Google Sheets Mariëlle Hoefnagels, University of Oklahoma The following tutorial includes bare-bones instructions for using Google Sheets to make two types of simple graphs: column/bar graphs and line (XY) graphs. A. Column/Bar Graphs Column or bar graphs are for data collected in an experiment in which the independent variable (the one that goes on the X-axis) is qualitative (categorical), not quantitative (numerical). As an example, perhaps you designed an experiment to determine which type of food produces the most weight gain in your parakeet. Step 1: Enter the data in the cells of a blank spreadsheet, like this: Step 2: Use the mouse to highlight the block of cells containing your data, then click Insert à Chart. Right away, you ll get a bar graph that already looks pretty darn good.

2 Step 3: Double-click the chart, and the Chart Editor will appear at the right side of the screen. The Chart editor has two tabs: one for data and one for customizing the look of the chart. Use the Data tab to adjust the data range and modify the X and Y axis titles, if you want to. Use the Customize tab to modify the overall look of the graph, the chart/axis titles, the axes themselves, the gridlines, and so on. Fool around all you want with the fonts, text sizes, colors, and so forth. For a graph like this, which has only one dependent variable and one independent variable, I suggest getting rid of the legend by clicking Legend à None. I also suggest getting rid of the title because you ll need to come up with one that goes with your caption anyway. After making those two small changes, the graph looks like this. Perfect!

3 B. Line (or Scatter) Graphs Line (or scatter) graphs are for data collected in an experiment in which the independent variable (the one that goes on the X-axis) is quantitative (numerical). As an example, perhaps you designed an experiment to determine how long it takes to boil various volumes of water. Step 1: Enter the data in the cells of a blank spreadsheet, like this: Step 2: Use the mouse to highlight the block of cells containing your data, then click Insert à Chart. Unfortunately, Google Sheets isn t smart enough to know that you need a line graph, not a bar graph, for data like this. Step 3: Double-click the chart to conjure up the Chart editor. When it comes up, click the Data tab, and click on Chart type.

4 I know you re tempted by the Line graph option, but don t let it seduce you; scroll down to choose the Scatter chart, the one with dots all over it. Step 4: When you click on the chart type you want, Google Sheets automatically makes a draft of the chart for you and pastes it into the worksheet (see example above). Step 5: This is no good though. Look at the X axis; the labels are evenly spaced even though the intervals between the numbers 100, 200, 500, and 1000 are not equal. How are we going to fix this? Step 6: Make sure the Chart editor is still showing, then look at where it says Treat labels as text. Uncheck the box beside that label. Now our graph looks like this:

5 Step 7: Use other portions of the Customize tab to modify the overall look of the graph, the chart/axis titles, the axes themselves, the gridlines, and so on. Fool around all you want with the fonts, text sizes, colors, and so forth. The default look for a Scatter plot is not to add a line, but since we re making a line graph, a line would be a nice touch. Under the customize tab, click Series and then check the box by Trendline. A bunch of choices will pop up; in this case, the best choice for Type is Linear. For a graph like this, which has only one dependent variable and one independent variable, I suggest getting rid of the legend by clicking Legend à None. I also suggest getting rid of the title because you ll need to come up with one that goes with your caption anyway. That pretty much takes care of it for your basic graph of continuous data. You re done!