Okuzeka
Statistics vocabulary · Reporting Results

Bar chart

Meaning in statistics, with examples

nounCore term

In statistics, bar chart means: A chart that compares categories using separate rectangular bars whose lengths show counts, percentages or other values.

In Turkish: sütun grafiği, çubuk grafik, bar grafiği

How it is used

Used for categorical data, with gaps between the bars. Bars can be vertical or horizontal, and grouped or stacked. A common rule for honest reporting is that the value axis should start at zero; otherwise differences look larger than they are.

Example sentences

  1. The bar chart compares the share of respondents in each age group.

  2. Use a bar chart, not a pie chart; it's easier to compare eight categories that way.

Common collocations

  • stacked bar chart
  • grouped bar chart
  • horizontal bar chart
  • error bars
  • histogramA chart of touching bars showing how many observations of a numeric variable fall into each interval, called a bin.
  • frequencyThe number of times a value or category occurs in a data set; a relative frequency gives the same information as a proportion or percentage.
  • categorical variableA variable whose values are groups or labels rather than measured quantities, such as blood type, city of residence or 'yes/no' answers.
  • box plotA chart that shows the median, the quartiles and the spread of the data as a box with lines (whiskers) extending from it, with outliers marked as separate points.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Reporting Results

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: