Objectives of Diagrammatic Representation
The following are the chief objectives of diagrammatic representation of data:
(i) To present the data an attractive and impressive manner: The numerical data, as a matter of fact, are very much boring and distractive in nature. They do not appeal to the mind of a common man. Diagrams, on the other hand, can be made very much attractive and impressive for an onlooker in as much as they give delight to one’s eye and add a spark of interest.
(ii) To facilitate comparison: The pith and substance of a problem becomes more clear, and readily intelligible by the process of comparison. Diagrams, indeed, make the comparison. Diagrams, indeed, make the comparison between two or more sets of homogeneous data easily possible which is difficult through any other method like tabular presentation. Thus, when a study is made of the results of two colleges in a certain examination through tabular presentation, it may not be very clear to a common man but when these data are represented through diagrams, the crux of the problem becomes very clear all at once.
(iii) To leave a lasting impression: A lasting impression enables a person in taking the right decision relation to a problem. As a matter of fact, diagrams create lasting impression in the mind of a person through visual impact. For instance, a businessman can better understand as to the trends of imports, and exports of country from the diagram rather than the tabular presentation.
(iv) To bring out the characteristics of the data: In most of the cases the essential features or the characteristics of the data remain hidden and as such the crux of the problem is not clearly understood. Diagrams, as a matter of fact, are capable of bringing out the essential characteristics of the data without taxing one’s mind. Thus, to bring out the characteristics of the data, diagrams are resorted to.
(v) To eliminate the complexity of data: As pointed out earlier, the data in the shape of numerical figures looked very complex, and unintelligible to a common man, and as such, he is not able to carry any impression about them. The diagrams, as a matter of fact, render the complex data simple and readily understandable as they have a better appeal to the eyes of a common man. Thus, to eliminate the complexity of data, and make them understandable by a common man, diagrams are resorted to.
(vi) TO save time and energy: A lot of time and energy is wasted even by the experts in grasping the significance of the numerical data presented through tabulation etc. But it needs a little time, and energy to catch the crux of a problem presented through a suitable diagram. Thus, in order to save time which is like gold, and energy which is like life, diagrams are drawn to present the statistical data.
