2.1.1.2.3 - Minitab: Bar Charts

Minitab 18

Minitab®  – Bar Chart (Raw Data)

This example will use data collected from a sample of students enrolled in online sections of STAT 200 during the Summer 2020 semester. These data can be downloaded as a CSV file:

WCStudentData.csv

To create a bar graph of the primary campus variable in Minitab:

  1. Open the data file in Minitab
  2. From the tool bar, select Graph > Bar Chart > Counts of Unique Values...
  3. Select One Variable
  4. Click OK
  5. Double click the variable Primary Campus in the box on the left to insert it into the Categorical variable box on the right
  6. Click OK

This should result in the bar graph below:

Bar chart of primary campus made using Minitab
Video Walkthrough

Minitab 18

Minitab®  – Bar Chart (Summarized Data)

In the example above, raw data were used. In other words, the data file contained one row for each case. It is also possible to use Minitab to construct a bar chart with summarized data, for example, if you have your counts in a frequency table. If this is the case, follow the steps below. This example uses the following data concerning Penn State undergraduate enrollment:

Enrollment by Campus
Campus Count
University Park 40,639
Commonwealth Campuses 27,100
PA College of Technology 4,981
World Campus 8,360

Penn State Fall 2019 Undergraduate Enrollments

 

To create a bar chart using summarized data:

  1. Enter the data into a blank Minitab worksheet with one column containing the Campus names and a second column containing the Count for each campus
  2. From the tool bar, select Graph > Bar Chart > Summarized Data in a Table...
  3. Under One Column of Values, select Simple
  4. Click OK
  5. Double click Count in the box on the left to insert it into the Y-variable box on the right
  6. Double click Campus in the box on the left to insert it into the Categorical variable box on the right
  7. Click OK

This should result in the bar chart below:

Bar chart of enrollment made using data in a summarized table
Video Walkthrough