Discrete and continuous data

In a nutshell

There are two different kinds of data: discrete and continuous. Different diagrams are used depending on the data type.

	DEFINITION	EXAMPLE
Discrete	Whole number data that is counted, not measured	The number of books on each shelf in a library
Continuous	Measurable data that could take any value	The height of students in class

Deciding the type of numerical data you have allows you to decide which chart, graph or diagram to use.