Creating Graphs in Microsoft Excel. INTRODUCTION: A good graph must 1) be clean, 2) be simple, and 3) accurately tell a story.

Transcription

1 Thompson Center for Autism CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Creating Graphs in Microsoft Excel INTRODUCTION: A good graph must 1) be clean, 2) be simple, and 3) accurately tell a story. When creating a graph, it is our job to assume that the people who will view it know nothing of the research study, assessment, or intervention that led to it. Therefore, we must make sure that it includes an appropriate amount of data (i.e. not too much), that its axis are proportioned to accurately reflect the results, and that each of its parts is clearly labeled. This document is intended to help you create clean and high-quality graphs of behavioral data using Microsoft Excel. It will highlight the creation of the three most common types of graph for behavioral data: scatter plots, bar graphs, and line graphs. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Headings and Issues Page # Introduction 1 Table of Contents 2-3 Selecting a Style of Graph 4 Scatter Plots 5 Creating Scatter Plots 6 The x- and y-axis 6 Format x- and y-axix Values 6 Create x- and y-axis Lines 7 Re-Size Cells to Form Squares 7 Add x- and y-axis Labels 8 Selecting a Style for Data Points 8 Shading Data Cells 9 Embedding Your Graph Into a Document 9 Data for Scatter Plot Exercise 10 Bar Graphs 11 Creating Bar Graphs 12 Entering Data 12 Creating the Graph Modifying the Appearance of Your Graph Unique Issues for Bar Graphs 16 Isolating Data Bars 16

2 Thompson Center for Autism 2 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Headings and Issues Page # Bar Graphs (cont.) Dealing with 0 Data 17 Altering Axis Scales 17 Changing the Size of Your Graph 18 Changing Data Labels More Complicated Bar Graphs 19 Stacked Column and 100% Stacked Bar Graphs Adding Additional Labels Embedding Your Graph Into a Document 23 Data for Bar Graph Exercises 24 Line Graphs Entering your data 24 Creating your graphs 26 Changing the appearance of your graph 44 Adding trend lines 73 Adding a 2 nd Axis 81 Adding phase change and condition change lines 87 Adding Labels 93 Multiple Baseline Graphs 97 Entering Data 98 Creating the graphs 98 Completed graph 109

3 Thompson Center for Autism 3 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL SELECTING A STYLE OF GRAPH: One of the first steps in creating a graph is selecting the type of graph that best fits your data and your needs. The three types of graphs that are described below are used for different purposes, look different from one another, and require that you arrange your data differently when entering it into an Excel spreadsheet. The table below describes the uses of each type of graph so that you can select the correct type before entering (and then probably re-entering) your data. Type of Graph Example Use Scatter Plot Used to plot large amounts of data by some period of time such as time interval, class period, or activity (in a sequential schedule) in an effort to identify relationships between the behavior and the period of time. This may help to identify times to focus on for further observation or for intervention, and might also suggest possible setting events and antecedents. Bar Graph Line Graph Used to group data together to offer comparisons or to tell a story. Can be used to compare levels of specific behaviors or specific types of responses, to compare types of assessment or treatment conditions, and to compare possible setting events or antecedents. Bar graphs are not used to depict changes over time. Used to view changes in behavior over time or across various conditions or treatments when it is important to see levels for each specific date, session, etc. Line graphs are the most commonly used type of graph when depicting data from intervention efforts.

4 Thompson Center for Autism 4 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL SCATTER PLOTS In educational and social service settings, scatter plots are typically used to identify relatively small periods of time during which the behavior of interest is most or least likely to occur. For example, we typically want to know what time of the day or what class period or work period is most likely to see high or low rates of the target behavior. The scatter plot below is a good example. It is for an adult who is highly motivated to succeed in a competitive employment setting. While he has the skills that are necessary for his current placement, he often produces profanity and will likely be fired if it does not decrease. The scatter plot presents self-report data from ten consecutive work days. It summarizes the frequency of profanity for 30-minute increments from the time that the client arrives at work until the time that he leaves. Areas that are shaded black indicate instances of five or more swear words; dark grey indicates 3-5 instances; light grey indicates 1-2 instances; and no shading indicates 0 instances. These data suggest a number of interesting trends that will be helpful in identifying setting events and antecedents and in targeting intensive intervention efforts. In fact, they suggest two distinct trends. This individual appears to produce higher rates of profanity between 8:30 and 9:30 each day and between 1:30 and 2:30. In addition, he tends to produce markedly higher rates of profanity during the mornings and early afternoons on Fridays than during any other days of the work week. Unfortunately, there are no graphing functions within Microsoft Excel that allow you to enter data to create the types of scatter plots that are most frequently used for behavioral data (plotting data by some large span of time on the x-axis and smaller spans on the y-axis). In other words,

5 Thompson Center for Autism 5 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL B you cannot tell Microsoft Excel to create the graph above after entering the data for it. However, this type of graph is not difficult to make once you learn a few tricks. Creating Scatter Plots The image to the right is what the actual excel spreadsheet looks like for the profanity graph on the prior page. Rather than entering data in the form of numbers, the actual graph is created piece-by-piece. Type X- and Y-axis Values 1. Type the larger units of time (i.e. days, sessions, class periods, etc.) in order within cells along a single row. (A) 2. Type the smaller units of time (minutes, 30-minute increments, etc.) in order within a single column. (B) The column for the smaller units of time should be the column that is one column to the right of the first larger unit of time such that where the x-axis and the y-axis meet there is an empty cell. (C) C A Format X- and Y-axis Values 3. If the formatting for the cells does not match your vision (i.e. it says14-march instead of 3/14), you can alter the formatting by highlighting the cells you would like to change, pushing the right click button, selecting Format Cells, selecting the Number tab, selecting the type of number that you want (i.e. Date or Time ), and selecting the formatting style that you desire. B

6 Thompson Center for Autism 6 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Create X- and Y-axis Lines 4. Highlight the cells that list the values for the x-axis, left-click, select Format Cells, select the Border tab, and click the button that adds the line to the top of the Border diagram. Click OK. You have just created the x-axis. A 5. Highlight the cells that list the values for the y-axis (B), left-click, select Format Cells, select the Boarder tab, and click the button that adds the line along the right side in the Border diagram. Click OK. You have just created the y-axis. B Re-Size Cells to Form Squares This step will cause the cells within the graph to change from rectangular shapes to square shapes to provide a more accurate portrayal of the data. 6. Locate the ruler along the left side of the page and highlight all of the rows from two rows below the x- axis to three rows above the y-axis. 7. Right click, choose Row Height, and change the height to 25.

7 Thompson Center for Autism 7 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Add X-axis and Y-axis Labels 8. Working in the row in the spreadsheet that is immediately below the row that the x-axis values are typed into, highlight all of the cells that are under x-axis values. 9. Right click on the icon within the toolbar that says Merge and Center when it is pointed to. 10. Use a 20-point font while typing a data label for the x-axis. 11. Working in the column that is immediately to the left of the column that the y-axis values are typed into, highlight all of the cells that are next to y-axis values. 12. Right click on the Merge and Center icon within the toolbar. 13. Use a 20-point font while typing a data label for the y- axis. 14. Change the direction of the text within the y-axis label by moving the cursor into the large cell that it is typed into, right-clicking, selecting Format Cells, and select the Alignment tab. 15. Move the cursor to the red dot within the Orientation box, right click, and drag the arm and red endpoint until it is vertical and the box reads 90 Degrees. Selecting a Style for Data Points The number of different types of data points that you use will depend, in part, on the frequency of the behavior that you are tracking and on the need to be more or less specific about its occurrence. 16. To indicate whether a behavior did or did not occur during a particular interval of time (while ignoring its frequency), type the capital letter X within the cells that it occurred or shade the cells black. 17. When it is important to provide some indication of the frequency with which the behavior occurred during each time interval, use different types of shading to indicate different frequencies or ranges of frequency. One common option involves using light grays, darker grays, and black shading. Another involves using textures that indicate lesser or greater degrees of behavioral density.

8 Thompson Center for Autism 8 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Shading Data Cells 18. Highlight the cells to be shaded or simply point the cursor to a single cell and then press the right click on the mouse. 19. Select the Format Cells option. 20. Select the color that you would like to shade the cells, or select the Patterns tab and then select the pattern that you would like to use. High, Medium, and Low Frequency Embedding Your Graph Into a Document Congratulations!!! You have created a scatter plot!!! The process for imbedding scatter plots into documents is entirely different from the process for copying and pasting other types of graphs. This is because your graph was not actually created as a single object by Microsoft Excel. Instead, it is an image that you have constructed one piece-at-a-time. The basic process for embedding your graph involves viewing your scatter plot in a Print Preview manner, using the Ctrl + Prnt Scrn keys to take a picture of the computer screen, inserting the entire picture of the screen into a word processing document, and then cropping the picture so that only the scatter plot is showing. 21. Click on the File tab in the toolbar. 22. Right click on Print Preview. 23. While admiring a clean version of the graph, simultaneously print both the Ctrl and the Prnt Scrn keys on your keyboard. You have just taken a snapshot of exactly what your monitor looks like. 24. Open a word document or some other file that you would like to embed the image into. 25. Past the image into the document. Your document now probably looks something like the image to the right. 26. Right click on the image that you just pasted into the document and right click on the Crop tool within the Picture toolbar. Move the Crop symbol to the small black squares around the outsides of the image that you pasted and drag these inward until you have eliminated the background and are left with only your scatter plot.

9 Thompson Center for Autism 9 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Data for Scatter Plot Exercise Times of Instances 3/14 3/15 3/16 3/17 3/18 3:32 2:20 2:19 2:11 2:02 12:57 12:54 12:49 12:42 12:39 12:34 12:34 11:51 11:42 11:34 11:32 10:57 10:50 10:41 10:19 10:14 5:10 10:13 2:29 10:10 2:28 9:25 2:22 9:23 2:19 9:22 2:14 9:20 2:13 9:16 2:08 2:28 9:13 3:37 2:02 2:25 9:11 3:33 1:57 2:20 9:10 1:57 1:43 2:16 8:56 1:40 1:40 2:09 8:52 1:38 9:28 2:02 1:54 8:41 11:41 9:25 10:40 1:53 8:39 8:57 9:23 9:29 1:53 8:27 8:54 9:10 9:23 1:51 8:16 8:43 8:55 9:20 1:45 8:15 8:41 8:47 9:18 1:37 8:11 8:40 8:38 9:04 1:33 8:07 8:32 8:34 9:00 8:41 8:01

10 Thompson Center for Autism 10 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL BAR GRAPHS: Bar graphs are used to depict and compare data when it is not important to see how the data have changed over time. Each bar within a bar graph represents a separate data set. Examples of uses of bar graphs are included below: Average Frequency per Session (10 min.) Results of Functional Analysis Tangible Attention Alone Escape Analysis Condition Graph 1 depicts the results of a Functional Analysis during which 10- minute sessions were conducted five times each for four different antecedent / reinforcement conditions. Food Assessment Results % of Instances Successful Chicken Hot Dog Lunch Meat Green Beans Carrots Corn French Fries Noodles Accepted Consumed Baked Potato Apples Type of Food Graph 2 depicts a food analysis that documented a child s willingness to accept and to swallow each of 19 different foods. Bananas Strawberries Cheese Ice Cream Yogurt Pancakes Muffins Pizza Chips Analysis of Subway Task 1 % of Instances Independent / Prompted 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Independent Prompted No Yes Graph 3 depicts an analysis of a client s ability to complete steps in a task analysis of his job at Subway Sandwich Shop across two consecutive` 4-hour shifts. Greet Customer Ask Sandwhich Ask Bread Correct Bread Ask Meat Correct Meat Ask Cheese Correct Cheese Ask Toasted Ask Toppings Correct Toppings Ask Meal Deal Follow-Up Correct Side Correct Drink Pass to Cashier Appropriate Affect Sandwich-Making Steps

11 Thompson Center for Autism 11 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL CREATING BAR GRAPHS: Bar graphs are relatively easy to create and to modify, and this document walks you through the steps of doing so. These include Entering Data, Creating the Graph, Modifying Data and Bas, Isolating Bars, Altering Axis Scales and Labels, and Adding Additional Labels. Entering Data 1. Open a blank document within Microsoft Excel. 2. If you expect to create multiple graphs, it is sometimes easiest to create each of them on a separate page or book. If you use more than one book, you will want to name each book to indicate which data set and which graph are in each. To do this, double left-click on the name of one of the books and type the new name that you would like to call it. 3. Type a name that describes your graph in one of the cells. (Column B) 4. Type the name of one variable in one row, and the name of the other variable in the row below it. In this case, one variable is the type of behavior, and the other is the rate of each type of behavior. (Column E) 5. Type a name or descriptor for each data set or for each bar within your graph, and type one name in each cell. (Row 4 Columns F-I) 6. Type the value or amount of each variable in the row under its name. (Row 5, Columns F-I) Creating the Graph 7. Highlight the portion of your data that will be graphed by including all of the data values and their names. 8. With the selected cells highlighted, click on the Chart Wizard button within the toolbar.

12 Thompson Center for Autism 12 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL The Chart Wizard calls the type of graph that you are trying to create a Column graph. It also offers a number of specific subtypes of these. This type simply compares values from one category (or bar) to another. The bars or categories are not further divided in any way. This type of graph is used to compare the composition of specific categories of data rather than their amounts or degrees. For example, we could create a graph that depicts how each of three teachers respond to escapemotivated negative behavior on the part of a client (Graph 3). Mastered Expressive Vocabulary This type of graph is used when you want to divide the bars or categories in order to gain additional information. For example, one might want to compare the numbers of specific vocabulary targets mastered for specific types of words, and also to know many are older targets and how many are new (Graph 2) Staff Reactions to Escape-Motivated Behavior Number Mastered New Labels Old Labels Object Labels Verbs People Types of Words %age of Instances of Behavior 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Prompt Alternative Requeest Promp Compliance Allow Escape Tom Sue Nancy Staff Member Graph 2. Graph Select the specific type of graph that you would like to create by selecting the image for that type and clicking Next. 10. Dialogue boxes will prompt you through a number of choices concerning your graph. The first asks you to identify the parameters of the data that you are using. If you selected the correct cells, click Next. If not, either click Cancel and re-start the process or try to fix the error by changing one of the letters or numbers in the box that says Data Range. The box is set up in the following manner:

13 Thompson Center for Autism 13 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL first column first row last column last row name of excel spreadsheet page or book 11. The next step in Chart Wizard involves naming your graph, naming the x-axis, and naming the y-axis. Type the labels that you want, and click Next. 12. The last step in Chart Wizard involves indicating where you want your finished graph to be located. You can chose to keep it on the page that you have been working in or to move it to a different page within the same file. When you click Finish your graph will appear. Modifying the Appearance of Your Graph Your graph will initially look like the graph below. A number of changes typically need to be made to improve its appearance, and these are also noted. Frequency Observed Behavior Screaming Throwing Hitting Elopement Behavior Series1 Eliminate Outside Border left click on boarder, select Format Chart Area, select None under Border, select OK. Eliminate Gridlines: Left click on a gridline and select Clear. Eliminate Legend: Left click on or in the box and select Clear. Eliminate Border Around Graph and Eliminate Grey Shading: Left click inside the graph but not on a gridline or on a data bar. Select Format Plot Area and select None for Border and None for Area. Select OK.

14 Thompson Center for Autism 14 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Once you have modified the appearance of your graph, it will look like the one below. Observed Behavior Frequency Screaming Throwing Hitting Elopement Behavior 13. Most professional journals require that graphs be converted so that they are black and white. The color (and texture) of bars can be altered by right-clicking on any of the bars and selecting Format Data Series. The Border side of the Patterns menu allows you to change the color of the border around each bar, while the Area side can be used to alter the shading of each bar. Select the black color sample on the Area side and then select OK.

15 Thompson Center for Autism 15 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Unique Issues for Bar Graphs In the case of simple graphs such as our graph about the frequencies of behaviors during a natural observation, we have completed all necessary formatting steps and can now insert our graph into a report or manuscript. However, there are unique issues that sometimes arise while making bar graphs, and there are more complicated bar graphs that require greater attention. Unique issues and more complicated bar graphs will now be addressed. Isolating Data Bars There may be instances during which you want to add extra distance between one set of bars in a bar graph and another set or single bar because one or more bars reflect a category that is markedly different than the others. The graph below about a client who works at Subway is a perfect example. While most of the data bars reflect his performance within specific steps of a task analysis, the last bar depicts his overall use of appropriate affect while at work. Because it is a different type of dimension, it is separated from the other bars. Analysis of Subway Task 1 100% % of Instances Independent / Prompted 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Independent Prompted No Yes Greet Customer Ask Sandwhich Ask Bread Correct Bread Ask Meat Correct Meat Ask Cheese Correct Cheese Ask Toasted Ask Toppings Correct Toppings Ask Meal Deal Follow-Up Correct Side Correct Drink Pass to Cashier Appropriate Affect Sandwich-Making Steps The easiest way to insert additional space before a bar in a bar graph is to leave the data cell before the relevant data blank within the spreadsheet for the graph. Here is the data for the graph above. Notice that Column U is empty. It does not have a 0 or a space. Instead, it was skipped over entirely while entering data.

16 Thompson Center for Autism 16 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Dealing With 0 Data When you are creating a simple line graph, and one of your categories has a 0 entered for its data, the graph may look slightly confusing. This is the case with the graph on the left below. If it assists the viewer in interpreting the data, it would be appropriate to enter a very small number in the place of the number 0 within the data set. In this case, the entry of the number 0.1 produces a place marker in the graph that makes the graph less confusing to look at but still suggests that the client does not spontaneously produce when and how questions. Use of Spontaneous Questions Use of Spontaneous Questions Instances per Hour Instances per Hour "Who " "Where " "What " "When " "How " "Why " 0 "Who " "Where " "What " "When " "How " "Why " Question Type Question Type Percentage Correct Percentage of Math Problems Completed Successfully + 0 Single Digit 2-Digit 3-Digit 2-Digit + Carrying Type of Problem 3-Digit + Carrying Altering Axis Scales The scale of the y-axis can be altered relatively easily. In this case, the graph depicts the percentage of examples of specific types of addition problems that were completed correctly. Since we are talking about a percentage, ending the y-axis before it reaches 100 tends to skew the visual analysis of the graph and to suggest a higher level of performance than occurred. To change the scale of the y-axis, point to the axis line, right click, select Format Axis, select the Scale tab, and type in new values for the maximum Y Value (in this case 100). You can also change the Major Unit value to cause the y-axis to display more frequent values or less frequent values. The two graphs to the right depict y- axis that have their Major Units set at 5 and 25. Percentage Correct Percentage of Math Problems Completed Successfully + 0 Single Digit 2-Digit 3-Digit 2-Digit + Carrying Type of Problem 3-Digit + Carrying Percentage of Math Problems Completed Successfully Percentage Correct Single Digit 2-Digit 3-Digit 2-Digit + Carrying Type of Problem 3-Digit + Carrying

17 Thompson Center for Autism 17 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Changing the Size of Your Graph You can change the size of your graph either before you move it into a document or after. In either case, simply point to a non-graph part of your image, left click to expose the movement points for the image, and click and drag until you achieve the size that you desire. In some cases, resizing the graph can be used to adjust the data labels in a favorable manner. Consider the following two graphs which depict the total duration of off-task behavior while completing worksheets of varying levels of difficulty. Average Seconds Off-Task (Per 10 Problems) Examining Task Difficulty and Off-Task Behavior 90%-100% Correct Worksheets 50%60% Correct Worksheets Level of Difficulty The graph on the right was made longer and taller within Microsoft Excel until both its y-axis label and its category labels could each fit within 20%-30% single Correct lines. Worksheets It was then resized again within this document so that it would fit the space that was allowed. Average Seconds Off-Task (Per 10 Problems) Examining Task Difficulty and Off-Task Behavior 90%-100% Correct Worksheets 50%60% Correct Worksheets 20%-30% Correct Worksheets Level of Difficulty Changing Data Labels The actual wording of graph labels, axis labels, and category labels can be altered relatively easily. To change the wording of the graph label or the axis labels, right click within an open portion of the actual graph and select Chart Options. Select the label to change and type the new label. To change the label of a bar or a category within the graph, type the new name within the spreadsheet that was used to create the graph. To change the size of an axis label or of a bar or category label, re-size the graph (described in the prior section) or actually assign a new font size. Font sizes can be assigned for graph or axis labels by left-clicking on the label to be changed and then typing a new font size into the font men within the toolbar at the top of the page.

18 Thompson Center for Autism 18 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL To change the font size for a category or a bar label, point to the x-axis line, right click, select Format Axis, select the Font tab, and type or select a new font size, and click OK. The font size for the y-axis should also be altered when it is changed for the x- axis. More Complicated Bar Graphs There may be times that you want to depict two features of each data category. For example, the graph below depicts both the %age of acceptance and the %age of consumption for each of 19 different foods. % of Instances Successful Accepted Consumed Food Assessment Results Chicken Hot Dog Lunch Meat Green Beans Carrots Corn French Fries Noodles Baked Potato Apples Bananas Strawberries Cheese Ice Cream Yogurt Pancakes Muffins Pizza Chips Type of Food Both variables about each food were depicted because the data was entered into the spreadsheet in the manner below. This type of graph is called a Clustered Column graph. Note that the information about each specific food was entered into the same column thus causing acceptance and consumption to be graphed immediately next to each other. Note also that instances of 0% acceptance and/or consumption were entered as 1 (i.e. 1%) so that they would appear on the graph.

19 Thompson Center for Autism 19 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Stacked Column and 100% Stacked Column Bar Graphs The data for Stacked Column and 100% Stacked Column graphs are entered in the same manner. Both of these types of graph break each category bar into two or more parts. Within Stacked Column graphs, the numbers that are depicted by the parts of the bar add up to the total of the bar. For example, when tracking a client s spontaneous utterances toward specific types of communicative partners, # of Greetings + # of Requests + # of Comments = Total # of Tracked Utterances Analysis of Spontaneous Utterances Average Frequncy per Day Greetings Comments Requests To Familiar Adults To New Adults To Familiar Peers To New Peers Communicative Target The data fort this graph were entered onto the spreadsheet in the manner below: You can alter the order in which subcategories are stacked into the bars for this type of graph by right-clicking while pointing to a bar, selecting Format Data Series, selecting Series Order and using the Move Up and Move Down buttons while manipulating each sub-category.

20 Thompson Center for Autism 20 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Within 100% Stacked Column graphs, percentages of sub-categories are depicted so that they always add up to 100% of the entire category. For example, when tracking how staff members react to instances of escape-motivated behavior, % of instances of prompting alternative requests + % of instances of prompting the client to comply + % of instances in which escape occurred = 100% of instances of escape motivated behavior Staff Reactions to Escape-Motivated Behavior %age of Instances of Behavior 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Prompt Alternative Requeest Promp Compliance Allow Escape The data for this graph were entered in the manner below: 0% Tom Sue Nancy Staff Member

21 Thompson Center for Autism 21 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Adding Additional Labels As bar graphs become more complicated, they often require the need for additional labels. An examination of graphs within the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis suggests a trend away from the use of legends and toward the use of labels that are inserted directly into graphs where they are most relevant. The process of creating labels is relatively easy and can include inserting text boxes and/or arrows into graphs. It is best to open the Drawing toolbar (View Toolbars Drawing) prior to getting started. It is crucial that the graph be selected prior to inserting a label or an arrow. If you do not highlight your graph first, you will lose your label whenever the graph is cut, copied, pasted, or moved. In other words, point to the border of the graph and right click so that you see the corner and mid-section points of the image (circled in the image below) before using the toolbar to insert arrows and text boxes. Once you have selected your graph, you can click on the text box symbol or the arrow symbol to draw them into it. It is often helpful to eliminate text box margins when creating labels because not having margins helps you fit into tighter spaces. You can eliminate margins by right-clicking on the text

22 Thompson Center for Autism 22 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL box, selecting Format Text Box, selecting the Margins tab, typing 0 into each white box, and selecting OK." You should also eliminate the borders around additional labels by right-clicking on the text box, selecting Format Text Box, selecting Colors and Lines, selecting No Line where it is circled below, and selecting OK. Embedding Your Graph Into a Document: Congratulations!!! You have created a bar graph!!! The process for imbedding bar graphs into documents is relatively easy. You simply right click on a border of the image, select Copy, open the document that you wish to insert your graph into, and paste it. Once your graph is in a document, you can move it around and re-size it easily.

23 Thompson Center for Autism 23 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Data for Bar Graph Exercises Create a Simple Bar Graph Staff are trying to chose the best peer model for one of their students and want to select someone who the student already attempts to imitate and to interact with. Every time that the student approaches a peer and either says something to him/her, offers him/her an object, or imitates him/her is recorded as an instance of initiation. You have been asked to prepare a graph that compares the number of initiations toward each of five students. The student initiates toward Danny 15 times, Susan 7 times, Elizabeth 17 times, Roy 3 times, and Trey 12 times. Create a More Complex Bar Graph Julian has sometimes engaged in extreme escape-motivated outbursts when she is given tasks to complete. However, she only does so some of the time. Team members believe that important variables might include the person who presents the task and the level of difficulty of the task. An antecedent analysis is created so that each of four people deliver easy tasks ten times and deliver difficult tasks ten times in random order. They all react in the same way to Julian s outbursts. The findings are that: o Mr. Walker encounters outbursts in 80% of the trials of easy tasks. o Mrs. Jones encounters outbursts in 10% of the trials of difficult tasks. o Mr. Smith encounters outbursts in 100% of the trials of difficult tasks. o Mrs. Jones encounters outbursts in 10% of difficult tasks. o Mr. Walker encounters outbursts in 70% of the trials of difficult tasks. o Mrs. Jones encounters outbursts in 20% of the trials of easy tasks. o Mrs. Rogers encounters no outbursts during easy tasks. o Mr. Smith encounters outbursts in 100% of the trials of easy tasks. o Mrs. Rogers encounters outbursts in 10% of difficult tasks.

24 Thompson Center for Autism 24 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL LINE GRAPHS Entering Your Data: The most important step in creating a graphic display of data is how it is oriented and entered the excel sheet. It is important to conceptually orient your data based on phases of the experiment, dependent variables, and data. The first step is to place the condition, date, trial, etc, vertically in the spreadsheet. The next step is to label the independent variables horizontally one line above the first condition label.

25 Thompson Center for Autism 25 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Once you have the data labels completed, you can begin to enter your data.

26 Thompson Center for Autism 26 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL The data represents the frequency of each type of behavior. Now, we want to graph the data. Creating Your Graph: The first step in graphing your data is to determine what type of graph you want to make, i.e line graph, bar graph, pie chart, etc. For the data we are using, lets begin by creating a bar graph or histogram. The first step is highlight your data.

27 Thompson Center for Autism 27 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Notice that we only highlighted the data and the data labels, not the title of the worksheets (Experiment #1). Next, we need to begin using our graphing menu.

28 Thompson Center for Autism 28 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL When we select the graphing function, we get menu that begins with the option to choose what type of graph to create. We are interested in making a line graph.

29 Thompson Center for Autism 29 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL We usually want to stick with the line with markers displayed at each data value, which is the automatic default in excel. Select the next button to move to the next menu options. The next step is to determine what our data is. So we select the next button and we get another menu.

30 Thompson Center for Autism 30 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL As you can see, the menu gives an example of what you data would look like currently. What excel is doing is talking the data we highlighted and putting it into the graph type you have chosen. The data range refers to the cells highlighted, meaning cell A3 to F19 on sheet one is where the data is being pulled from. The data range is a drop down menu that allows us to change the cells we want to pull from. If we push on the button on the far right of the data range bar, we get the following menu:

31 Thompson Center for Autism 31 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL What this menu allows us to do is re-highlight our data. So lets say we only want to graph data variable Aggression across all the sessions. We begin by erasing the data in the data range bar (=Sheet1!$A$3:$F$19) and highlighting data we want to use. The blue dotted line represents the data we now want and the formula for just that data shows up in the data range bar. Now we go back up and select the button to the far right of the data range bar.

32 Thompson Center for Autism 32 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Now, we still have the data for SIB, when all we want is aggression. There are two ways to solve this problem. The first way is to go back to the button on the right of the data range bar and select the condition labels (the dates) and just the aggression data. To do this, you first erase the data in the data range bar, and then highlight just the condition labels. The hold control and highlight just the aggression data.

33 Thompson Center for Autism 33 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL The blues dotted lines are now around just the data we want. We go back to the button on the right of the data range bar and we back to the previous menu. Now the example has only the aggression variable.

34 Thompson Center for Autism 34 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL The second option to get rid of the SIB variable is to go into the series tab at the top of the menu.

35 Thompson Center for Autism 35 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL If you select this button, it takes you to a new menu that shows each variable.

36 Thompson Center for Autism 36 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Variables Variable Name Variable Values This menu shows where in the excel sheet the data for each variable is being pulled from, including the variable name (SIB and Aggression) and the variable values. If we want to remove SIB from our graph, all we do is make sure that it is highlighted in the series box and push the remove button on the bottom. This removes that variable from the graph.

37 Thompson Center for Autism 37 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Now we have the picture we want. The difference between this graph using the series method and the data range is the color of the variable (blue in the data range and red in the series). This is because excel always goes back to its default color scheme, so in the data range method, we removed the SIB variable and blue is the first default color, so it Aggression became the first variable. In the series method, aggression was the second variable, so it defaulted to red. When we remove a variable, the others keep their default colors.

38 Thompson Center for Autism 38 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL The next step is to enter the chart options menu. We push the next button on the bottom and the following menu: This menu ha a number of important features. Beginning with the first tab on the top, titles, we can label our chart and the axis. Lets name the chart Experiment 1: Aggression Across Phases, the (X) or horizontal axis is the date of each session, so we will call this Session, and the (Y) or vertical axis is the value of the dependent variable, which is Frequency.

39 Thompson Center for Autism 39 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Now that we have our label, we can move on. The other menu options allow you to adjust the axis values, gridline values, where the legend is located, if you want to add the values of the data, or if you want to add the data values onto the graph as a table. Many of these options can remain at their default settings, but lets move the legend from the right of the graph to the bottom so that we can stretch out our graph. The first thing we do is select the Legend tab at the top of the menu. We then get the following menu:

40 Thompson Center for Autism 40 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL This menu is very simple and just allows you to push the button where you want the legend to be located. We want it on the bottom.

41 Thompson Center for Autism 41 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Now that we have the graph labeled and the legend where we want, we cam move on the next step, location.

42 Thompson Center for Autism 42 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL This menu allows us to choose where we want the new graph to be located, either on the worksheet where our data is, or as its own worksheet. This is a preference issue, however, you plan to put in phase lines or other labels, it is best to have the graph as its own sheet. Below is a picture of both options.

43 Thompson Center for Autism 43 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Or:

44 Thompson Center for Autism 44 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL We now have our graph of experiment one for the aggression variable. Changing the Appearance of Your Graph: As mentioned above, excel relies on default colors and appearance features. Four many reasons, including meeting publication specifications, we may want to change the appearance of the graph. The following examples will use the same data we used for the creating graphs example, but we will use a line graph with the initiation variable. Altering the Background and Borders of Your Graph: Below is our line graph with the excel default features. Lets begin by removing the gray background and the borders.

45 Thompson Center for Autism 45 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL To change the background color and remove the borderlines, we right click on the gray background, and select format plot area. We then get the menu below:

46 Thompson Center for Autism 46 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL The menu gives us two sets of features: fill and line. Fill refers to the color of the background and allows the user to change the color and the transparency of the background. We are interested in changing the color, so we simply select the arrow button on the left of the color menu and select a new color. I always chose to not have a color, so I select no fill, but it is up to the user.

47 Thompson Center for Autism 47 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL We want to remain in the format plot area menu and remove the lines at the top and left of our graph. To do this we go down to the line section of the menu and select the arrow button on the left of the color menu and change the color. This time we will select no line because we want to remove them.

48 Thompson Center for Autism 48 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Now that we have made the changes we are interested in, we select ok and here is our graph:

49 Thompson Center for Autism 49 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Changing the Appearance and/or Scale of the Y-Axis: Now that we have removed the default gray and plot area borderline, we want to change the scale of our Y-axis so that our highest data point is at the top of the graph and remove the Y-axis value lines. The first thing we do is right click on the a-axis line and select format axis :

50 Thompson Center for Autism 50 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL This menu allows the user to change any aspect of the Y-axis appearance, including the scale. For our purposes, we will only use the scale menu for Y-axis.

51 Thompson Center for Autism 51 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL This menu allows us to change the scale of the Y-axis. What s nice is that if we change one of the scales, the major and minor units automatically adjust. If we do not like the way they automatically adjust, we can simply go back into the menu, unselect the auto-arrow and input your own values. Lets change the maximum value on the Y-axis to 9.

52 Thompson Center for Autism 52 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Now our graph looks like this:

53 Thompson Center for Autism 53 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Now that we have the scale where we want it, lets remove the value lines. The first thing we do is right click on one of the grid lines and select format gridlines. We then get a familiar scale menu. Go to the tabs at the top and select the colors and lines tab.

54 Thompson Center for Autism 54 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Here we have the color option again. Excel will not allow us to remove the lines, but we can make their color match the background to get rid of them. Since we have selected to use no fill, he background will be white. So all we do is select the arrows on the far right of the color menu bar and choose white.

55 Thompson Center for Autism 55 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Once we have selected the color, we simply push ok and here is our updated graph:

56 Thompson Center for Autism 56 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Changing The Appearance of Data Points Data Paths: Now that we have changed the appearance of the background and scale, we need to change the appearance and color of the data points and path. The appearance of the data points and path is dependent on your use for the graph. If you are making graphs for reports or school/clinical purposes, you can use a wide variety of colors and shapes. If you are creating graphs for publication, you are limited to the restriction of APA, which restricts the use of color to black. Sticking with the publication theme lets change make the data points black circles with white inside and black data paths. The first thing we need to do is right click on the data and select format data series. Once we do that, we get the following menu:

57 Thompson Center for Autism 57 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL There are a number of important formatting features in this menu. To change the appearance of the data points (referred to as marker in the menu) and the data path (referred to as line), we begin by using the color menu bar. First select the color menu bar for the line section of the menu and change the color to black. The next step is to change the style (shape) of the data point (marker). Press the arrows on the right of the style button, and a list of shapes will appear. We want to use the circle.

58 Thompson Center for Autism 58 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Once we have the shape we want, we need to change the colors of the shape. We have two colors, the foreground, which is the outline of the marker, and the background, which is the fill color for the marker. We want to change the foreground color to black and the background color to white. Press the buttons and change each color respectively.

59 Thompson Center for Autism 59 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL One thing that is helpful is to change the size of the data point (marker) so that it is more prominent in your graph. This is important when you do not have a lot of data points. Lets change the size to 9pts. To do this, simply select the arrows on the right if the size box and select nine or put your cursor in the size box, erase the 7 and type. Here is what our graph looks like.

60 Thompson Center for Autism 60 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Changing the Titles for Your Graph and Its Axes, and Altering the Legend for Your Graph: Lets suppose that we have gotten this far, but decide that we want to change the name of the graph, change where the legend is located, re-label an axis, or realize that there is an error on an axis, such as the line graph we have been using. The line graph we just changed has the x-axis labeled sessions when it should be frequency. To change this, all we need to do is right click on the graph as a whole (click on a part of the graph that does not have line or number such as near a corner), and we are given a number of options.

61 Thompson Center for Autism 61 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Through this menu, we can change the chart type, source data, chart options, or chart location. We can also access these same features by selecting the chart tab on the tab bar: To change the any of the labels or the legend, we need to go back into the chart options menu. Select the chart options and we get the following menu:

62 Thompson Center for Autism 62 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL The first thing is to change the category Y-axis label to frequency. As you can see we can change any of the labels or location of the legend. Lets also change the chart title to experiment one: line graph. Below is our adjusted graph:

63 Thompson Center for Autism 63 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Altering the Size of Your Graph: Changing the size of your graph is contingent upon where you have the graph located. If you have the graph as it s own sheet as we went through above, there is no need to adjust the size of the graph (expect in unusual circumstances). However, if you are working with your graph on you data worksheet, you may want to make it larger or smaller, longer or shorter, etc. To do this, you select the graph (it is suggested to select near a corner to ensure that you are selecting the whole graph and not just a section. Six black squares will appear on the corners and along the border of the graph:

64 Thompson Center for Autism 64 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Once the black squares appear, you can use them to drag the chart in the direction of your choice dependent on which point you use to drag. If you select and hold the square near the red arrow and drag left, the whole graph s size will increase to the left. If you select, hold and drag one of the squares in the middle of the border, it will make the graph wider or thinner. As a note, you can experiment with resizing, and if you change the shape and do not like it, press control and X to undo the change. Adding Additional Data: What if we have created a graph, but now want to add a new variable. Returning to our Experiment One: Line Graph, lets assume that we want to look at initiations and peer prompts together. The first we need to do is right click of the whole graph or go to our chart tab on the top menu bar and select source data.

65 Thompson Center for Autism 65 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL This brings us back to the source data menu we explored earlier:

66 Thompson Center for Autism 66 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL To add a new variable, or series as is called in this menu, we select the add button on the bottom of the series list box. This will add a new series to our series list. We now have to give the series a name and values. To add a name, we have two options. We can put our cursor into the Name box and type in a name:

67 Thompson Center for Autism 67 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL or you can select the arrow on the far right, and go back into the data and select the cell with the name you want to use as the label.

68 Thompson Center for Autism 68 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL After selecting the cell, push the arrow button on the far right again and it will show a formula linking the label to the cell with the name of your choice.

69 Thompson Center for Autism 69 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Once we have a label name, we need to add the value of the variable. To do this, we press the arrow button on the far right of the values button, go back into our data and select the data to use.

70 Thompson Center for Autism 70 CREATING GRAPHS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL Press the button with the arrow again and the menu will now have a formula linking the values to the data. A small example of what the graph will look like also appears in the menu box.