Visual Analytics Fundamentals: Addison-Wesley Data & Analytics Series

Preface       xiv
Acknowledgments       xxvi
About the Author       xxvii
 
1. Welcome to Visual Analytics      1
A Visual Revolution       2
The Evolution from Data Visualization to Visual Data Storytelling       7
A Brief Look at the State of the Industry       9
From Visual to Story: Bridging the Gap       11
Summary       16
 
2. The Power of Visual Analytics      17
The Science of Storytelling       18
      The Brain on Stories       19
      The Human on Stories       21
The Power of Stories       23
      The Classic Visualization Example       24
      Using Small Personal Data for Big Stories       26
      The Two-or-Four Season Debate       30
      Napoleon's March       32
      Stories Outside of the Box       34
Summary       35
 
3. Getting Started with Tableau      37
Using Tableau       38
Why Tableau?        39
The Tableau Product Portfolio       42
      Tableau Desktop       43
      Tableau Server       43
      Tableau Cloud       44
      Tableau Prep       44
      Tableau Public         44
      Tableau Reader and Tableau Viewer       44
Getting Started        45
Installing Tableau Desktop       46
Connecting to Data       46
      Connecting to Table       48
      Live Versus Extract       51
      Connecting to Multiple Tables with Relationships and Joins       52
Adding and Replacing Data Sources       55
Basic Data Prep with Data Interpreter       57
Navigating the Tableau Interface       58
      Menus and Toolbar       59
      Data Pane       60
      Shelves and Cards       60
      Legends       60
Understanding Dimensions and Measures       61
      Dimensions       61
      Measures       61
      Continuous and Discrete       61
Summary       62
 
4. Keeping Visual Analytics in Context      63
Context in Action       65
      Harry Potter: Hero or Menace?        66
      Ensuring Relevant Context       67
Exploratory Versus Explanatory Analysis       69
Structuring Visual Analytic Stories       73
      Story Plot       74
      Story Genre       75
Audience Analysis for Storytelling       76
      Who       77
      What       77
      Why       77
      How       78
Summary       80
 
5. Fundamental Data Visualizations      81
The Bar Chart       83
      Tableau How-To: Bar Chart       84
The Line Chart       88
      Tableau How-To: Line Chart       91
Pie and Doughnut Charts       91
      Tableau How-To: Pie and Doughnut Charts       93
The Scatter Plot       98
      Tableau How-To: Scatter Plots       98
The Packed Bubble Chart       102
      Tableau How-To: Packed Bubble Charts       103
The Tree Map       105
      Tableau How-To: Tree Maps       106
The Heat Map       108
      Tableau How-To: Heat Maps        109
Summary       112
 
6. Fundamental Maps      113
      Connecting to Geographic Data       116
      Assigning Geographic Roles       117
      Creating Geographic Hierarchies       120
      Proportional Symbol Maps       123
      Choropleth Map       127
 
7. Design Tips for Curating Visual Analytics      133
Visual Design Building Blocks       136
Color       138
      Sequential Color       139
      Diverging Color       140
      Categorical Color       143
Color Effects       145
      Opacity        146
      Mark Borders       147
      Mark Halos       147
Pre-attentive Colors       148
Important Color Considerations       150
The Truth About Red and Green       151
Lines       153
      Formatting Grid Lines, Zero Lines, and Drop Lines       156
      Formatting Borders       160
Formatting, Shading, and Banding       163
Shapes       168
      Shape Marks Card       168
      Custom Shapes       169
Summary       173
 
8. Structuring Analytics for Storytelling: Prep, Dashboards, and Stories      175
Basic Data Prep in Tableau: Data Interpreter       176
      Data Interpreter in Action       177
      Handling Nulls in Tableau       179
      Pivoting Data from Wide to Tall        182
      A Note on Preparing Survey Data for Visual Analysis       186
Storyboarding Your Visual Analytics       188
      Understanding Stories in Tableau       189
      The Storyboarding Process       198
Summary       200
 
9. Beyond Fundamentals: Advanced Visualizations      201
Timelines       202
Bar-in-Bar Charts       210
Likert-Scale Visualizations       213
      A 100% Stacked Bar Chart       214
      Divergent Stacked Bar Chart       216
Lollipop Charts       226
      Labeled Lollipops       230
Word Clouds       231
Summary       234
 
10. Closing Thoughts      235
Five Steps to Visual Data Storytelling       236
      Step 1. Find Data That Supports Your Story       236
      Step 2. Layer Information for Understanding       237
      Step 3. Design to Reveal       237
      Step 4. Beware the False Reveal       238
      Step 5. Tell It Fast       238
The Important Role of Feedback       238
Ongoing Learning       240
      Teach Yourself: External Resources       240
      Companion Materials to This Text       242
 
Appendix A. Tableau Services       243
 
Index       247

Lindy Ryan teaches visual analytics and data visualization in Rutgers' Professional Science Master's program. As Research Director for Radiant Advisors, she led work in data discovery, enablement, visualization, and visual analytics, and developed Radiants Data Visualization Competency Center^TM methodology. Her books include The Visual Imperative and Visual Data Storytelling with Tableau (Addison-Wesley, 2018). A published novelist, screenwriter, and short-film director, her creative work has won numerous awards.