Multiple bar diagram
Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Presentation of Data"
Meaning
A multiple bar diagram puts two or more bars next to each other for each category. It is used to compare related sets of data, such as two years, two groups, or exports and imports. Each set of data gets its own colour or shading, and a key explains which is which. Like any bar diagram, only the height of the bars matters. The bars have equal widths and equal gaps between groups.
Example
NCERT compares female literacy by state in the 2001 and 2011 censuses, with one pair of bars for each state. The largest rises were in Bihar (33.1% → 53.3%), Jharkhand and UP. In 2011 Kerala was highest at 92.0% and Rajasthan lowest at 52.7%. India as a whole rose from 53.7% to 65.5%.
Don't confuse with
- Component bar diagram: this uses one bar split into parts to show how a total is made up. For example, it could show the share of girls aged 6-14 who are in school and out of school.
Related concepts
- Raw data
- Classification
- Chronological classification
- Spatial classification
- Qualitative classification
- Quantitative classification
- Attribute
- Continuous variable
- Discrete variable
- Frequency