Some of the common ways to visualize categorical variables:
- Frequency Distribution Tables
- Bar Charts
- Pie Charts
- Pareto Diagrams
Frequency Distribution Table:
| Brand | Frequency |
| Brand A | 84 |
| Brand B | 67 |
| Brand C | 102 |
| Total | 253 |
Bar Chart:
Bar charts are useful to visually compare items/groups among each other based on their frequency
Pie Chart:
Pie charts are useful when we not only want to compare items/categories among each other but see their share of the total. we use relative frequency for this.
| Brand | Frequency | Relative frequency |
| Brand A | 84 | 33% |
| Brand B | 67 | 26% |
| Brand C | 102 | 40% |
| Total | 253 | 100% |
Pareto Diagram:
A Pareto diagram is a special type of bar chart where items/groups are shown in descending order of frequency along with Cumulative frequency.
A Pareto diagram combines the strong points of the bar and pie chart. its easier to compare data both between categories/items/groups and as part of the total as well.
| Brand | Frequency | Relative frequency | Cumulative frequency |
| Brand A | 102 | 40% | 40% |
| Brand B | 84 | 33% | 74% |
| Brand C | 67 | 26% | 100% |
