How to Make a Spider Chart
Spider charts or radar charts illustrate performance aspects of different categories, allowing you to visualize the difference between results. Consultants use these charts to help compare organizations to competitors, or provide an overview of an organization's or individual's strength and weaknesses. Gather your data before you create the spider chart; you need the data in order to make the chart. Either work by hand or on the computer to create your chart.
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Instructions
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Using a Computer
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Open your spreadsheet software, then open up the file that contains the data you need for the spider chart by selecting "File," then "Open" from the application menu. If you have not created a data file yet, create a new file by selecting "File," then "New" from the menu instead. Input your data.
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Select the data you want to plot in your spider chart from the spreadsheet. Select "CTRL+A" to select all the data on the chart.
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Navigate to the "Insert" category on your application menu, then scroll down and select "Charts." Then select "Other Charts." Look for the "Radar" category, and select "Filled Radar."
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Click the part of your page where you want the chart to appear, to create a chart box. Select the style of chart you prefer by clicking on a color combination from the box in the "Design" tab at the right of the menu.
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Select "Format," then "Size" to change the size of your chart elements. Type whole numbers in the "Shape Height" and "Shape Width" categories to make your shapes larger.
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Title your chart by clicking "Layout" then "Labels" then "Chart Title" then "Above Chart" from the menu. Type in the title of your chart and select "ok" to title it. Click "CTRL+S" to save your file with the spider chart included.
By Hand
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Draw a large circle on a sheet of paper, using a pencil.
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Create spokes that come out from the center of the circle, making one for each category you're measuring. The circle will begin to look like a pizza pie as you do this.
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Label by hand each line or spoke with a category name.
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Make tick marks along each spoke, subdividing the line into the increments on your rating scale. For example, if you were measuring 0 to 5, mark five-tick marks along the spoke with the final mark at the outer edge of the spoke. Each mark would represent a number from 0 to 5, with the origin of the spoke being 0 and the outer edge being 5. Do this for all the spokes.
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Plot out your results by entering the associated value with each category. For example, a result that had scores of 3, 3 and 5 in the categories would get a point at the outer edge for the "5" result and points at the "3" on two different spokes. Once you've plotted all your points for one result, connect the dots to create a shape. Then plot your next result in the same manner. Color in the shapes for clarity once you've plotted all results.
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