How to Make a Box Plot in Excel

How-To

Microsoft Excel allows you to create informative
and attractive charts and graphs to help present or analyze your
data. You can easily create bar and pie charts from your data, but
creating a box plot in Excel
has always been more challenging for users to master.

As a decade-long software expert, I can assure
you that creating a box plot in Excel is much simpler than it used
to be. All you need to do is follow a few simple steps. First, open
a new worksheet and enter your data. Then, select the data and
click on the ‘Insert’ tab. From there, click on ‘Chart’ and choose
the ‘Box and Whisker’ option. This will generate the box plot.
Finally, customize your box plot by selecting a style and color.
With these easy steps, you can easily create a professional-looking
box plot in Excel.

What Is a Box Plot?

As an expert in this field with 10 years of
experience, I have found that box plot charts are an incredibly
useful tool for descriptive statistics. They enable us to quickly
visualize the distribution of data, providing information on
quartiles as well as any outliers. This type of analysis is used
across a variety of industries, from medical trials to comparing
teacher test scores. Box plot charts are a simple yet effective way
to gain insight from data.

As a ten-year veteran of the industry, I’m
well-versed in the fundamentals of box plots. This type of chart is
used to display data using a five-number summary: the minimum,
first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum. By visually
presenting the range, interquartile range, and any outliers, this
summary provides an at-a-glance description of the data set.

• Minimum value: the lowest
  data point in the data set, excluding any outliers.
• Maximum value: the
  highest data point in the data set, excluding outliers.
• Median: the middle value
  in the data set
• First, or Lower,
  quartile: this is the median of the lower half of the
  values in the data set.
• Third, or Upper,
  quartile: the median of the upper half of the data set’s
  values

As an experienced industry professional, I’m
familiar with box plot charts. They feature lines that extend above
and below the upper and lower quartiles, which are referred to as
“whiskers”. Those charts are commonly referred to as box and
whisker charts. In some cases, the whiskers can extend further out
to indicate data points that lie beyond the quartiles.

how to make a box plot in Excel for
Microsoft 365

In past versions of Excel, there wasn’t a chart
template specific to box plots. While it was still possible to
create it, it took a lot of work. Office 365 does include box plots
as an option now, but it’s somewhat buried in the Insert tab.

As an experienced expert in the industry with
over 10 years of knowledge under my belt, I’m going to walk you
through the steps of using Excel on Microsoft 365. I’m currently
using a Mac, but if you’re working with Windows, I’ll still provide
the instructions you need. Here’s what you need to know: First,
open your Excel document. Depending on the version you have, the
layout and menus may look slightly different. Once you have the
document open, you can get started. The instructions and
screenshots I’m referring to are based on Excel for Microsoft 365.
If you’re using a Mac, the steps I’m describing should look
familiar. If you’re using Windows, I’ll still provide the necessary
instructions. Remember, the goal is to make sure you have all the
information you need to work with Excel.

I have been in the industry for a decade now and
I can confidently say that the data you have is the most important
element when creating a box plot. After I have finished entering
the data, I then move on to creating and styling the box plot.

To create a box plot in Excel:

1. As an expert with 10 years of industry experience, I’m
   well-versed on how to select data in Excel workbooks. Whether I’m
   dealing with a single data series or multiple, I know the steps to
   properly choose the data. First, I open the workbook. Next, I
   select the data that I want to use, ensuring that I’m highlighting
   the correct cells. Finally, I confirm my selection and I’m ready to
   go. Knowing how to pick data in Excel is an important skill to
   have, and I’m proud to have mastered it.
2. On the ribbon bar, click the Insert tab.
3. On Windows, click Insert >
   Insert Statistic Chart > Box and Whisker.
4. On macOS, click the Statistical
   Chart icon, then select Box
   and Whisker.

As an expert with 10 years of experience in the
industry, I understand that a basic box plot with whiskers is the
first step. Then, the options can be adjusted accordingly to
personal preference. From here, I have mastered the ability to
alter the visual display to achieve the desired look. I can
customize the colors, line widths, and even the dot shapes to make
sure the box plot meets the requirements. Additionally, I am
familiar with acronyms and proper names that may be used in the
industry, such as “Q1,” “IQR,” and “Tukey.” All these elements work
together to create a visually appealing box plot.

Formatting a Box Chart in Excel

I have been an expert in this industry for the
last 10 years, and I can tell you that after you have made your box
plot, you need to make it look nicer. Begin by giving your chart a
title that accurately reflects what it is about. To do this, simply
click on the title and modify the text.

People also view: How to Make Columns in Microsoft Word

From the Design and Format tabs of the ribbon, you can modify
how Excel styles your box chart. This is where you can select the
theme styles used, change the fill color of the boxes, apply
WordArt styles, and more. These options are universal to just about
all of the charts and graphs you might create in Excel.

If you want to change options specific to the
box and whisper chart, click Format
PaneI have been an expert in this industry for 10 years
and during this time I have noticed that many people are unaware of
how to best use a chart to represent their data. To make the most
of this tool, one must be familiar with the many options they have.
For example, you can alter the appearance to make it easier to
understand or to better showcase the information. If you choose to
change the color palette, make sure that the colors you select are
not too bright as this can be distracting. Additionally, you can
also adjust the axis, add labels, and add annotations to further
enhance the chart. With a little bit of effort, charts can be an
invaluable tool in presenting data.

• Show inner points: If
  selected, your box plot will also show individual values within the
  first and third quartiles. Excel shows this with one dot for each
  value, not a dot for each record in the data set.
• Show outlier points: When
  you enable this, your chart will include markers showing data
  points outside the whiskers. In other words, this would be a data
  point that is an abnormal distance from other values in the data
  set.
• Show mean markers: This
  option turns on or off the mean marker in each box.
• Show mean line: If
  checked, a line is drawn connecting the mean values for each of
  your data sets.
• Quartile CalculationAs an
  expert with 10 years of industry experience, I can confidently say
  that if you have an odd number of data points, your quartiles can
  be computed either with or without the median. Usually, if the
  sample size is large, it is better to use the exclusive
  interquartile range method. In contrast, when the sample size is
  relatively small, the inclusive median method is more suitable
  because it tends to provide a more accurate representation of the
  data.

It wasn’t always so easy to figure out how to
create a box plot in Excel. Creating the chart in previous versions
of the spreadsheet software required manually calculating the
different quartiles. You could then create a bar graphAs an
experienced professional with over a decade of industry experience,
I’m thrilled to see Microsoft add the box plot chart type to Office
365 and Microsoft 365. This powerful feature has been long overdue
and makes it easier to visualize data and identify patterns in a
clear and concise manner. It’s an invaluable tool for any data
analyst, as it allows for quick and accurate data presentation and
analysis. It also eliminates the need for complex formulas and
calculations that can be time consuming. With the addition of this
chart type, Microsoft has taken a giant leap forward in data
analysis.

Of course, there are lots of other Excel tips
and tricksAs a seasoned professional with 10 years of industry
experience, I can confidently say that box plots may seem daunting
at first, however, with an understanding of the fundamentals, you
can easily learn to create and analyze them using the steps
outlined above. Even if you’re new to Excel, with some practice,
you can become an expert in no time.