- What is a double entry box?
- Characteristics of a double entry box
- What is a double entry box used for?
- How to make a double entry box?
- Examples of double entry boxes
We explain what a double-entry box is, its characteristics and what it is for. Also, how to make it and various examples.
What is a double entry box?
A double-entry chart, double-entry matrix, or comparison chart is a conceptual tool that allows you to visually organize data on a specific topic, using a series of columns and rows in which to break down the information vertically and horizontally.
These charts or tables can be as extensive as required, and are a widely used resource in books, articles and exhibitions, when it comes to presenting abundant data or establishing statistical and conceptual comparisons. This is due to the fact that they systematize the information in categories that are not only conceptual, but also visual, through the crossing of rows and columns in a matrix.
That is, in fact, the characteristic element of this type of table: that they contrast two types of information (one in the rows and the other in the columns) to be able to put them in direct relation. Hence its name: from the intersection of two simultaneous information inputs.
Characteristics of a double entry box
Double-entry tables are characterized by the following:
- They are a type of table that allows you to organize information graphically, useful to complement a text.
- They have two data entries, one in the columns and the other in the rows, and inside the table these two pieces of information are opposed.
- They can be as small or as long as needed, and they can also combine a large number of columns with a few rows, or vice versa.
- They are a tool versatile to present information systematically, and are widely used in Projects, monographs and results presentations.
What is a double entry box used for?
The double-entry tables have the purpose of organizing, systematizing and quickly disposing the desired information, through the contrast of two elements, themes or perspectives. For example:
Let us suppose that in a company it is necessary to organize the hours of worked face-to-face that correspond to each employee, given that the majority prefer to do home office. For this, a table is created in which the names of the workers in a single row, and the days of the week in five different columns. In this way, when a worker sees his name in a column, he can immediately find out what day of the week he has to go to work in person.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| worker names | Martin
Lucy | Maria
Natalie | Lucy
Juan | Martin
Juan | Natalie
Maria |
How to make a double entry box?
Double-entry boxes are easy to make. First of all, we must have the complete information that we need to represent graphically, especially the two categories that we want to contrast: days of the week and workers, for example, or subjects and grades, employees and jobs, among many others.
Then we must draw a table with as many rows and columns as we need to represent each data entry. When drawing the table, it is convenient to use tools such as rulers or computer programs that allow us to do it digitally.
If we want to create a table that contrasts subjects and grades obtained, we will need a single row of grades and as many columns as subjects evaluated; while if we wish to compare the provinces of the country and the margins of their total population, we will need as many rows as there are provinces and as many columns as there are population ranges (for example, from less than 1,000 inhabitants, from 1,000 to 10,000, from 10,000 to 100,000, etc.).
Once we know what information will go in the rows and what information in the columns, the next thing is to identify them, using the outermost rows and columns of the table. These identification boxes, which contain only the indicator of what information we will see in that row or column, can be colored or highlighted in some way so as not to be confused with the data content.
Finally, we must distribute the information in the table, in such a way that we can read it and obtain relevant information from the intersection of both entries.
Examples of double entry boxes
The following are examples of double entry boxes:
- Comparative table of the countries South Americans and their GDP per capita in 2017:
| Country | GDP per capita (US$) in 2017 |
| Argentina | 20.900 |
| bolivia | 7.600 |
| Brazil | 15.600 |
| Colombia | 14.400 |
| Chili | 24.600 |
| Ecuador | 11.500 |
| Paraguay | 12.800 |
| Peru | 13.500 |
| Uruguay | 22.400 |
| Venezuela | 12.500 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
- Double entry chart for night shifts in an infirmary:
| NIGHT SHIFT OF NURSING STAFF | |||||
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| TURN | – Maria Chieza
– Sergio Ramirez | – Pedro Chavez
– Robert Dennis | – Margot Benitez
– Sergio Ramirez | – Maria Chieza
– Robert Dennis | – Pedro Chavez
-Margot Benitez |