Graphical displays of data are useful for communicating the meaning behind numbers and diplaying relationships through time and among variables.

The NSF tracks demographic data concerning Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering and provides statistical reports on thier website. We will use this data to make some comparisons using graphs in Excel.

Part 1) Compare the percentage of men in the fields of science and engineering to that of women.

Download and open this Excel file:
Employed scientists and engineers, by occupation, highest degree level, and sex: 2006

Goal: Compare the number of both women and men of all occupations to those in the fields of science and engineering.
First, get the empty row 5 out of the way. Highlight it by clicking on the left, then right click and select hide. Now select cells C4-D6, this is the data we want to plot. Click the graph icon from the top of the window and browse through the different graph types in the chart wizard. Select one, click next and continue through the wizard.

• Which chart types best compare the data?
  
• How do you make the graph complete with labels units?
• Can you show the percentages of women and men for different degree levels?
• How about for different occupations?

Download and open this Excel file:
Trends in S&E Doctoral Degrees

Goal: Plot this data in a way that makes sense.

Hint: You may need to try different types of charts to get the data to display correctly; for data over time bar and line graphs usually work best.
Don't include the years in your data area, but add it later as your x-axis label.

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