Visually appealing data can sway an audience. Data reported in bland columns and rows of a spreadsheet can put the same audience to sleep. Ok so that maybe true, but which chart to choose? This is a difficult question for most analysts who want to balance visual impact with ease of creation.
One of the first questions we need to ask is, what type of data do we have to work with? If we are working with metric or scaled data (think Likert Scale for example) then one of my favorite charts is the spider or radar chart (these terms are used synonymously). This chart is useful for presenting multivariate data and facilitates comparisons between groups over the slate of your survey variables. A useful example would be displaying overall customer satisfaction scores, along with key drivers, across multiple groups (e.g. new customers versus existing customers).
The example below shows actual versus budgeted spending amounts for various departments. Cvent's web surveys presentation engine incorporates spider charts into their display library for reporting graphics. Factors to consider when using this graphic include number of radius points (five to seven are optimal) and the number of groups for comparison (two or three maximum). If you have more than two groups consider splitting them into separate charts and displaying them side by side.
Radar or spider charts are useful for displaying metric (e.g. actual vs. budgeted expenses across categories) or scaled survey data (key drivers for satisfaction for example). Their strength lies in their ability to display multiple variables at one time.
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