Tableau for Beginners - Bar Charts, Side-by-Side Charts

Data - World Heritage Sites

whc-sites-2019.xlsx

Download XLSX • 456KB

FYI: Before adding a source, I like to look at the original file to see how it is organized, missing information (fields), etc.

1. How Many Sites in Each Category?

In order to organize the amount of category sites, we need to put the World Heritage sites in columns and Category (cultural, natural, mixed) into rows. In order to have the data reflected accurately, we want the World Heritage Sites pill to be a continuous "measure". This means the data would be reflected as the total in a numeric amount.

2. Which Region Has the Highest Number of Heritage Sites?

With this question, what we want is the amount of sites in each region. Given this information we want the World Heritage Sites pill to be a measure (numeric) and the regions into columns, resulting in:

3. How to Further Subdivide the Charts (More visually effective)

FYI: Given the above chart, there are ways we can make it more visually appealing and easier to present. The "marks" section on the left allows the analyst to label and organize the charts themselves, so as not to be more reliant on the X and Y axis labels.

By dragging the "category" pill to the "color" section, we can now see how each bar is proportionately made up (info amount in each bar). If we also drag the "category" pill into the "label" subsection of "marks", the viewer is able to more easily read the charts:

4. Side-by-Side Charts to Compare Category Amounts

In order to compare how each Category is made up, we will first want to put the "category" pill into the Columns. Next, the analyst would place which pill they believe the viewer will want to see measured. In our case, let's put in the "region" pill. By doing so, this will show how many sites in each region make up each category (dominant column pill). Furthermore, if we were to add the "region" pill to the colors, this will create a legend, much like that in the previous question. Given that the bars are too narrow for an easily viewable label of the regions, a legend would be the best option here. Also, by creating the legend, we will no longer need to rely on the X-axis and, therefore, can be removed for this chart.

CONCLUSION: In order to create a legend, drag relevant pill to the "color" section under "marks".

2. If legend info can fit in a user-friendly manner within the chart as a label, there is no need for a legend and, therefore, we can remove the header from the X-axis.

3. The dominant pill (first pill on either row or column) is how the side-by-side chart will be subdivided first.