What is a Radar Chart?
A Radar Chart displays multivariate data mapped on an axis. The chart looks like a web with at least three spokes called radii coming out of the central axis. The values of the data are displayed on these spokes. The map is intended to display similarities, differences, and outliers at a single glance.
When Should Radar Charts Be Used?
When there are several items to compare, radar charts can be very useful. You can do this by overlaying the information of different products on a single chart, or by using several charts that display the same radius but analyze different products. You could, for example, compare the brownies of your mother, the bakery, and your neighbor by comparing charts.
There are many uses for business. Consider skill analysis for staff members. You could assess them on communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and punctuality. The radar chart shows the staff’s performance in comparison with their colleagues.
Radar charts can also be used in business to improve quality. They are a great way to show performance metrics.
When should you use a radar chart?
- Multivariate observations
- There are an infinite number of variables
- Outliers are important to recognize
- Compare products and services
- Small or medium-sized data sets
There are some best practices to follow when creating a radar diagram:
- The order of the variables should be meaningful.
- Radar charts should include more than three series
- Use only a few variables, otherwise, the chart may become confusing.
- The filled-in colors should be transparent if there are multiple data sets.
Radar Charts: Elements
It is easy to understand a spider diagram, as it only has a few elements.
- The center point is the central part of the spider chart.
- X-Axis: Each axis represents one variable on a chart. It is named and has different values. Radar graphs have at least three axes.
- Grids: When the axes in a spider graph are linked, they divide the graph into different grids which help us to represent information better.
- Valuations Once the graph has been drawn, we will represent different values on each axis. We then plot the chart by assigning distinct colors to every entry.
