In the Distribution platform, the histograms provide a visual display of the distribution of your data. For categorical (nominal or ordinal) variables, the histogram shows a bar for each level of the ordinal or nominal variable. For continuous variables, the histogram shows a bar for values of the continuous variable that fall within a numerical range or bin. An outlier box plot is also shown for continuous data. See Outlier Box Plot.
Use the following interactive tools to interact with your histograms:
Highlighting data
Click a histogram bar or an outlier in the box plot. The corresponding rows are highlighted in the data table, and corresponding sections of other histograms are also highlighted, if applicable. See Highlight Bars and Select Rows.
Creating a subset
Double-click a histogram bar, or right-click a histogram bar and select Subset to create a new data table that contains only the selected data.
Resize histogram bars for continuous variables by using the following:
• the Grabber (hand) tool
• the Set Bin Width option
• the Increment option
The Grabber (hand) tool is a quick way to explore your data.
1. Select Tools > Grabber.
2. Place the Grabber tool anywhere in the histogram.
3. Click and drag the histogram bars.
Recall that histograms are based on binning the data. The height of each histogram bar is proportional to the number of observations that fall within the bin represented by the bar. For histograms in the default vertical orientation:
• Moving the hand to the left increases the bin width, which decreases the number of bins. The number of bars decreases as the bin width increases.
• Moving the hand to the right decreases the bin width, which increases the number of bins. The number of bars increases as the bin width decreases.
• Moving the hand up or down shifts the starting value for each bin, which shifts the data points that fall within each bin.
Note: If you have changed the histogram orientation to horizontal, reverse these directions. Move the hand down to increase bin width, up to decrease bin width, and left or right to shift bin starting values.
The Set Bin Width option is a more precise way to set the width for all bars in a histogram. To use the Set Bin Width option, click the red triangle next to the variable name and select Histogram Options > Set Bin Width. Change the bin width value.
The Increment option is another precise way to set the bar width. To use the Increment option, double-click the axis, and change the Increment value.
Clicking on a histogram bar highlights the bar and selects the corresponding rows in the data table. The appropriate portions of all other graphical displays also highlight the selection. For more information about selecting and extending selections in the histogram, see Example of Selecting Data in Multiple Histograms.