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Data Visualization

Learn about best practices and tools to visualize data using charts and maps.

Tableau is data visualization software (aka Business Intelligence, Analytics). It enables fast creation of static or interactive InfoGraphics, including charts and maps. It is designed for large businesses, with pricing per user per month.

Install the FREE Tableau Public Edition.

Tableau Versions

Tableau Desktop / Prep

30-day free trial.

Tableau Public Edition

Tableau Public is free for non-commercial use.
Public version limitations are usually not an issue for academic users
- Cannot connect to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud
- Fewer data sources supported, especially with live data
- Data size limited to 15 million rows

Tableau Reader is free for ALL
It will ONLY open/view a tableau packaged workbook

Recommended Tutorial

Complete Guide to Tableau for Data Scientists by Matt Francis, LinkedIn Learning (GMU Login)
The entire course is over 10 hrs long, but the sections are well labeled and you can and should skip to/over videos as you wish.

Recommended 1 Hour Playlist

What you need to know (~4 min) - Choosing between versions of Tableau. Where to Save the Data Files.
Tableau UI tour (~6.5 min)
- Data Connection Pane, Data Pane (Dimensions and Measures), Row and Column Shelves, the View / Canvas, Marks and the Marks Card, the Filter Shelf
- See also the Manual: The Tableau Workspace
How do green and blue fields affect rows and columns (~6 min)
How to clean Excel data with the Data Interpreter (~4 min)
What are measure names and measure values (~5.5 min)
How do calculations work in Tableau (~7.5 min)
- Creating logic calculations using IF functions (~6.5 min)
- What are Level of Detail (LOD) calculations (~4 min)
Introducing the dashboard UI (~7 min)
- How to use filter actions (~6 min)
How to use colors to highlight data (~3.5 min)

Notes

If you have special data types like Dates or Geographic information, be sure to check out tutorials specifically for them.
If you have multiple tables, such as multiple sheets in an Excel file, check out the section on Combining Data
Also check out our Data Visualization InfoGuide for tips on creating effective charts and graphs.

Resources from Tableau

Start with the Getting Started Guide and Starter Kit

Switch From Excel: Videos: Part I and Part 2
Attend FREE instructor-led interactive seminars
Find answers from Support and the Knowledge Base
Pay $5-$10/month for eLearning videos
Watch Video Tutorials or Tableau on YouTube
- See especially the series Talk Data to Me
Learn more from their Blog and Whitepapers
See all the Data Import Connectors available
Sign up for the Viz of the Day email

More Tutorials

Introductory Tutorials

Shorter with more on Dashboards: Tableau Basics for Beginners (~27.5 min) by Penguin Analytics
- Starts covering Dashboards at 12:28
Shorter with more examples: Getting Started Playlist (~20 min) from Tableau
More relevant examples for some: Tableau for Climate Professionals (~1 hr 9 min) by Harim Jung, LinkedIn Learning
- Visualizing GHG emissions across countries, industries, and gas types.
Differently Organized: Tableau Essential Training (~4 hr 43 min) by Curt Frye, LinkedIn Learning

Tableau Zen Masters

Look for material written by a Tableau Zen Master, who have been selected based off knowledge and teaching. See Especially those by the Hall of Fame Zen Masters. For example:

Andy Kriebel / VizWiz - Great step-by-step instructions
- Video: Tips & Tricks Charts Edition [download workbook]: Shows how to create lots of different types of charts (very quickly)
Matt Chambers / Sir Viz-a-Lot - Makes innovative graphs

Learn More

Introduction to data viz with Tableau - Materials from a workshop (UBC Library)
LinkedIn Learning for Tableau - Video courses available for FREE through Mason
The Information Lab Blog and Videos- Large variety of tutorials on various topics
Tableau Reference Guide - Categorized links on specific topics from various sources
Power-Start Workshop Materials (Paul Albert, George Mason & Tableau Alum!)
Join a User Group

Learn by Example

The best way to learn Tableau is to utilize or re-create what other people have done. You can often download the workbooks for visualizations you see. Don't forget that some worksheets might be hidden. These sites have downloadable workbooks (look in the bottom right for the download icon (square with down arrow) and choose "Tableau Workbook". Note that .twbx files include the workbook (.twb) plus the data.

Tableau Viz Gallery - Examples of specific types of visualizations
Tableau Help Content - Example workbooks to follow along
Starter Dashboards from Tableau
Tableau Public Gallery - Wide variety of content from users
Workout Wednesday - Weekly challenges to re-create a graph
Covid-19 Starter Workbooks - Examples for various fields
Teaching Workbooks by Donabel Santos