CHARTS AND GRAPHS
Pivot tables are also very handy for presenting your information graphically. From the previous screen in our pivot table exercise, move your cursor to anywhere in the table of data. Now click on the “Chart Wizard” on the toolbar. Voila! Excel automatically puts your subtotals in a bar chart. See below.
Subtotals in a bar chart.
Does this help you visualize what we noticed earlier — that the bulk of fatalities in Afghanistan have occurred in the junior enlisted ranks?
You can select different charts by right-clicking in the grey area and scrolling down to the Chart Type option. You can also still manipulate the data in the graph. For example, can you figure out how to filter the data for only those casualties that occurred in the Army.
Caveats
Be sure you fully understand not only the data, but the mathematical functions you’re performing on the data! You could make a significant error with one wrong click of the mouse. It’s vital that you double-check and triple-check your work — and the conclusions you draw from your calculations. Bounce your findings off colleagues and editors — even the source of the data prior to publication. This will help you avoid a potentially embarrassing mistake. It will also help you bullet-proof your numbers, hone your idea and/or findings and even build a relationship with the data “geeks” inside government.
A quick brainstorming exercise before we finish: Take a look at column G, “Hostile.” Does the presence of this column change how you would report these figures?
Next up: CAR RESOURCES.
