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Welcome Case Study Map
Main Topics

Solve Problems

Focus on the User

Build Teams

Manage the Process

Focus on the User Concepts

Record Observations

Build Consensus

Collect and Analyze Data

Tools for Collecting and Analyzing Data

Indicators

Table

Control Chart

Line Graph

Pie Chart

Bar Graph

Histogram

  

Bar Graph

What is it?

A bar graph is used to graphically present data that you have gathered. The type of data represented in a bar graph is the number of occurrences measured in different categories of data. A bar graph is often used to graphically represent the information you have gathered in a table. For example, in the bar graph below, you can see a comparison of the number of users of different services -- outpatient, inpatient, and other -- by type of service.

Who uses it?

The team, the managers.

Why use it?

It helps you visualize relationships among different categories of factors affecting services to the users.

When to use it?

It is used when the information corresponds to a nominal scale (a counting of occurrences), and when you want to compare two or more groups (no more than six).

How to use it:

  1. Draw vertical and horizontal axes.

  2. On the vertical axis, create a scale to measure the frequencies of the variable (for example, number of users or number of times).

  3. On the horizontal axis, note the nominal scale (different qualities of the variable), for example, male/female, inpatient/outpatient, types of contraceptives, etc. It doesn't matter in what sequence the data categories are listed.

  4. Draw a rectangle for each quality of the variable. The height represents the frequency with which that characteristic was observed. For example, in the bar graph below there are 30 outpatient users, 40 inpatient users, and 50 other users.

    Bar Graph

         
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The Guide to Managing for Quality Copyright 1998 MSH and UNICEF

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