Journal
Data Visualisation Types Week 03 BUSMGT 708 Communicating Business Insights
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Learning outcomes:
By the end of this session you should be able to
Identify the most common types of business data visualisations
Know when to use them
This session is based on materials provided by Tableau for Teaching (created by Jeffrey A. Shaffer (Author – Big Book of Dashboards)).
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Agenda:
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Text based Data Visualisation
Commonly used Graphs & Charts
Critique this
-0.7%
Average Saving Rate NZ Households (2015)
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/m6
1. Text
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2. Tables
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/m6
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3. Word Cloud
encodes data using size of word to show comparisons which is difficult for making precise quantitative comparisons.
* Caution this chart type is not recommended.
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Text based Data Visualisation
Commonly used Graphs & Charts
Critique this
4. Bar Chart
encodes data using height/length of bar and shows categorical comparisons.
5. Stacked Bar Chart
encodes data using height or length of bar and color by segment and shows categorical and part-to-whole comparisons.
* Caution be careful not to slice stacked charts into too many segments.
6. Diverging Bar Chart
encodes data using height/length of bar diverging from a midpoint to show categorical comparisons.
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encodes data using height or length of bar and color by segment and shows categorical and part-to-whole comparisons.
encodes data using height/length of bar and shows categorical comparisons
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NZ Herald 1 August
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7. Line Chart
encodes data using position and often shows trend over time.
8. Histogram
encodes data using height and shows a distribution.
9. Sparkline/Sparkbar
encodes data using position (line) or height/length (bar) in a small, word-sized graphic.
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https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/which_chart_v6_final_0.pdf
Line Charts
https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/which_chart_v6_final_0.pdf
Histogram Charts
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Line (filled) Charts – Area Chart
Combined Line Charts
https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/which_chart_v6_final_0.pdf
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Sparklines
Small, high-resolution graphics embedded in a context of words, numbers, images.
Sparklines are data-intense, design-simple, word-sized graphics.
Invented by Edward Tufte
Source: https://bestmobileappawards.com/app-submission/my-cast-weather
Sparktweets
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10. Scatter Plot
encodes data using position to show the relationship between two variables. Size can also be used to show a secondary comparison.
11. Dot Plot
encodes data using position to show the comparisons.
12. Dot Plot with Jitter
encodes data using position to show comparisons but offsets points randomly to reduce overlap of dots.
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https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17194105/how-can-i-color-dots-in-a-xy-scatterplot-according-to-column-value
https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/which_chart_v6_final_0.pdf
Scatter Plots
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Source: http://tabsoft.co/2u4WUyU
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13. Box and Whiskers or Box Plot (Tukey)
encodes data using position and height/length to show the distribution of the data.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probability_density_function#/media/File:Boxplot_vs_PDF.svg
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Box and Whiskers or Box Plot (Tukey)
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14. Bullet Graph
encodes data using length/height, position and color to show actual compared to target and performance bands.
Source: Public Domain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_graph#/media/File:Bullet_graphs_multiple.png
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Bullet Graph (invented by Stephen Few)
Source: Public Domain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_graph#/media/File:Bullet_graphs_multiple.png
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15. Gantt Chart
encodes data using length and position to show amount of work completed in segments of time.
16. Waterfall Chart
encodes data using height and often color to show increase and decrease between time periods or categories.
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https://www.tableau.com/learn/articles/how-to/gantt-chart
Gantt Chart
Waterfall Chart
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17. Highlight Table
encodes a data table using color to highlight the differences in the table numbers.
18. Heat Map
encodes a data table using color to highlight the differences in the table without numbers.
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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/06/opinion/working-class-death-rate.html
https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/which_chart_v6_final_0.pdf
Highlighted Table
Heat Map
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19. Treemap
encodes data using size and color and is useful for hierarchical data or when there are a very large number of categories to compare.
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20. Lollipop Chart
encodes data using height or length of bar and shows categorical comparisons.
21. Slopegraph
encodes data using position to show quantitative comparison or rank, typically between two time periods.
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Slopegraph
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22. Choropleth Map (Shaded Map)
encodes data using color and position to show data geographically.
23. Symbol Map (Dot Map)
encodes data using position to show data geographically and can also use size to show quantitative data.
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Small Multiples
Invented by Edward Tufte
"Illustrations of postage-stamp size are indexed by category or a label, sequenced over time like the frames of a movie, or ordered by a quantitative variable not used in the single image itself."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/07/20/us/drought-footprint.html
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24. Bubble Chart
encodes data using size of circle to show comparisons which is difficult for making precise quantitative comparisons.
26. Concentric Circles
encodes data using arc and area to show comparisons but problematic for many reasons.
* Caution this chart type is not recommended.
25. Donut Chart
encodes data using arc and area to show a part-to-whole comparison but problematic for many reasons.
27. Pie Chart
encodes data using angle, area and arc to show a part-to-whole comparison but problematic for many reasons.
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Don’t Use Pie Charts
If you must break Rule #1 then:
Make sure it adds up 100%
Only a few categories
Start at noon and move clockwise
Largest to Smallest Values
Add Labels for %
Avoid 3D
Keep it Simple
General Rules for Pie Charts
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https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomholl/2011/03/27/creating-multi-series-bubble-charts-in-excel/
https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/media/which_chart_v6_final_0.pdf
Bubble Charts
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Girl Scout Cookie Sales
Photo: Celine Grouard
Source: www.wired.com/magazine/2011/08/st_datagirlscoutcookies
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Pie Charts on a Map
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28. Sankey Chart
https://www.sankey-diagrams.com/where-do-sankey-diagrams-work-data-revelations/
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A sankey diagram is a visualization used to depict a flow from one set of values to another. The things being connected are called nodes and the connections are called links.
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Ultimate Resource:
Financial Times Visual Vocabulary: Tableau Edition
http://www.vizwiz.com/2018/07/visual-vocabulary.html
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/andy.kriebel/viz/VisualVocabulary/VisualVocabulary
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Text based Data Visualisation
Commonly used Graphs & Charts
Critique This
Critique this:
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Source: https://eagereyes.org/criticism/march-chart-madness
Critique this:
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Critique this:
https://www.threenow.co.nz/shows/newshub-6pm/122217
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Critique this:
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Most
Least
Some
More
Few
Many