There are numerous examples of data visualizations you can use. Apart from the options we are already used to (like pie charts, bar/column charts, scatter plots and histograms), there are even newer ones.

Here is a list of the most used visualizations and their uses:

When you want to see relationships between data points

Scatter plots

Displaying the relationship between two quantitative variables plotted along two axes. A series of dots represent the position of observations from the data set.

Matrix chart

Summarizes a multidimensional data set in a grid.

Network diagram

Depicts how people or other elements are related to one another.

When you want to compare a set of values

Bar chart

Illustrates the main features of the distribution of a data set in a clear way.

Block histogram

Presents a frequency distribution of quantitative data in a graphical way.

Bubble chart

Providing a way to communicate complicated data sets quickly and easily.

Bullet graph

Using a target line to show progress to date, often with levels of performance graphed in the background.​

Deviation bar graph/Population pyramid

Aligning two bar graphs along their spine to compare the shape of their data sets.​

Dot plot

Plotting two or more dots on a single line for each category being compared.​

Small multiples

Positioning several small graphs with the same scale in a row for easy comparison

When you want to see changes over time

Line graph

Displaying information as a series of data points connected by straight line segments, on two axes.

Slopegraph

Comparing change between two points in time with a line.

Split Axis Bar graph

Regraphing comparison between two points in time by simply graphing the change that has occurred in that time frame.

Stacked graph

Visualizing how a group of quantities changes over time. Items are "stacked" in this type of graph allowing the user to add up the underlying data points.

When you want to show the part of a whole

Icon array

Arranging a matrix of icons (usually 100 or 1000 icons) typically as a frequency-based representation, simultaneously displaying both the number of expected events and the number of expected non-events

Pie chart

Illustrating proportion through a circular chart divided into sectors (like slices of a pie).

Treemap

Making use of qualitative information in the form of important distinctions or differences that people see in the world around them. They help overcome some of the problems that may be encountered when dealing with qualitative information.

When you want to analyze qualitative data (text)

Phrase net

Connecting key words in a text using lines to show linkages.

Word cloud

Displaying the words in a qualitative dataset, organised by frequency of use.

Word Tree

Displaying of the words in qualitative dataset, where frequently used words are connected by branches to the other words that appear nearby in the data.

When you want to show location

Mapping