Review of Delta Graph®
Version 5.7.3
By Larry Southwick
Dec. 26, 2006
I have used Delta Graph® for a number of years in prior versions. However, once I was dragged (kicking and screaming) into System 10, my latest version would not operate unless I went back to System 9. However, this new version not only works in System 10, but also opens seamlessly all of the prior graphs I have created.
The former owner of Delta Graph® was SPSS (the statistical package people). It is now available from Red Rock Software, Red Rock is in Salt Lake City; their phone number for sales is 888-689-3038. It came to me on a disk without a manual. However, when you access “help” from the menu, it takes you right to the Red Rock on-line help which is very detailed. Delta Graph® is very intuitive. I never found that I needed much help in designing and creating the graphs I desired.
The first step is to get your data in spreadsheet format. I find it easier to enter the data in an actual spreadsheet and do all needed computations and then to copy the data into the Delta Graph® data table. It is possible to modify data in the data table by using the “formula builder”, but if you are at all familiar with a spreadsheet such as Excel® that is the easiest way.
When you have the data entered, you next select the data to be graphed. Generally, you simply highlight the columns to be used. Then, you go to “Chart” on the top menu. Select the type of chart desired and, presto, you have it on the “chart” list under “View”. You can readily go back and forth between “data” and “chart” and it is easy to format the resulting chart or charts to your desires. It took me about 3 minutes to create a chart on weight over about 50 observations with labels for both axes and a title. I also included a trend line and had the Y-axis start at a non-zero point. I eliminated the legend (which comes up as the default option) and chose colors, line densities and data symbols within that time. Try all that with EXCEL!
Following is a quickly created graph of per gallon prices for (a) West Texas oil, (b) Wholesale gasoline fob NY, and (c) Retail gasoline prices (with excise and sales taxes subtracted) averaged over 2 stations in the Williamsville area. A trend line has been included for the retail price.
This took less than 10 minutes. I am sure you would prefer a less busy graph but this is just to show how it works. I just decided to add a quadratic trend for the oil price. It took me about 2 minutes to change the above graph to add that line and label it.
There are a lot of types of graphs which can be created. I used one of the table formats to show how many there are:
There is also an equation editor which allows you to include equations in your graphs. The following is totally nonsensical, but gives some idea of the possibilities:
Of course, you could use this in equations which are embedded in your text as well as in any graphs. That is a very useful feature for scientific applications.
I prepared a graph in advance of my appearance on the Lou Dobbs Show just for background. It only took a few minutes after I had the data. I added an exponential equation and put the equation in the graph. Note how well this came out.
You can set up your graphs as a slide show, should you desire it. While I’ve done it, I can’t put it in this report. You can create an organization chart using the outline format for a chart. Just for the heck of it, I thought I’d create a 3-D chart. The following is the Federal revenues and spending since 1980. I rotated the original until I got what I thought would sort of work, although it’s not really a very good graph.
Generally, this being government, the outlays exceed the revenues, of course. Here’s another 3-D with National Defense and Other Expenses, all in 2006 dollars.
See what fun it is? Of course, you can switch the series around.
It all depends on which shows better the effects you are reporting.
The following chart reports in 2-D on the pages put in the Federal Register each year by Republican and Democratic Presidents. (This is a measure of how much regulation is added each year.) Also, the standard deviations are plotted.
I have just stuck with red & blue; you could use any colors. (Jimmy Carter did the most increase in Regulation.)
Now, how about a bar graph? I’ve chosen to put in one which presents the pre-Brady Law crime rates in the states to which the Brady Law (a 5 day waiting period before buying a handgun) applied relative to the crime rates in the states which already had at least a 5 day waiting period before that law and to which the Brady Law did not apply. The results are:
There you are; there were higher crime rates where the Brady Law did not apply. (The differences were extremely significant.) Don’t you wonder about the mental acuity of Congress?
Time for a pie chart. This one is based on the numbers of local governments in the U.S. from 1962 to 2002.
There were massive declines in the numbers of School Districts and massive increases in the numbers of Special (generally, one purpose) Districts.
I find the program very easy to use. I have been told that, with add-ins, you can accomplish much of this within Excel. However, I don’t prefer that, even though I typically start with my data in Excel format.
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