Question 1.25

1.25 Which graphical display should you use?

For each of the following scenarios, decide which graphical display (pie chart, bar graph, Pareto chart, stemplot, or histogram) you would use to describe the distribution of the variable. Give a reason for your choice and if there is an alternative choice that would also be reasonable, explain why your choice was better than the alternative.

  1. The amounts of the 3278 sales that your company made last month.
  2. You did a survey of your customers and asked them to select the characteristic of your company that they like the best. They can select from a list of seven characteristics. You have 342 responses.
  3. The starting salaries of the 15 people who graduated from your college with the same major as you.
  4. Your customers are businesses who have been classified into eight groups based on the size of their business and the amount of sales that your company has with them. You have the counts for each group.

1.25

(a) Histogram would be best to show the distribution. (b) Pareto chart would be the best to prioritize those characteristics that they liked best; pie chart might also be suitable. (c) A stemplot would be best because it is a small dataset; a histogram might also be suitable. (d) Pie chart is likely best in this situation to divide all the customers into groups from the whole; a Pareto or bar graph might also be suitable.