Eric S. Atchison, Arkansas State University System

Wendy Kallina, PhD, Agnes Scott College

Visualizing Data to Measure and Communicate State and

System Metrics

Eric Atchison• Vice President for Strategic Research• eatchison@asusystem.edu / @ericatchison

• Founding Faculty Director of Data Visualization• wkallina@agnesscott.edu / @wendykallina

Wendy Kallina

Goals for this session

• Comprehend data visualization basics• Understand structure and function of dashboards• Create several of Tableau’s primary chart types• Aggregate tables/charts into usable dashboards• Utilize filters to customize views• Apply parameters to switch between views

Basics

• Start with the end in mind.

• What questions are you trying to answer?

• What information are you trying to use to inform policy decisions?

What is a dashboard?

Think about a puzzle

Think about a puzzle

Think about a puzzle

Think about a puzzle

What is a dashboard?

• A single display of a small number of important, high-level metrics

• Allows the user to relatively quickly understand the outcomes the state is trying to achieve and the progress it is making to get there

What are the elements of a dashboard?

• Dimensions• Measures• Filters• Marks• Parameters

What are Dimensions?

What are Measures?

• Fields that cannot be aggregated.• Institution name• State• Sector

• Fields that can be measured, aggregated, or used for mathematical operations.

• Count• Sum• Percentage

What are Filters?

What are Marks?

• Filters allow limitations of dimensions and measures to provide comparability or further investigation.

• Marks options provide control over how the data is displayed in the view.

• Overall display | Detail• Color | Label• Size | Tooltip

What are Parameters?• Functionality to show specific pieces of a dashboard

based on a selection. • Switch between categories shown (e.g., by state, by institution)• Switch between types of values shown (e.g., count, percentage)

Questions so far?

Some examples…

https://public.tableau.com/profile/asusystem

Begin with the end in mind• Interested in examining state-level postsecondary

awardees.

• You need to access data for all states over several years. [NCES IPEDS Completers data]

• Want to show the figures in a variety of ways because of a variety of audiences.

Review the available data• IPEDS_2017-2013.xlsx Completers tab

Transition to Tableau

Journalistic Style• Descriptive titles• Printable• Minimalist design / color scheme• Easily understood data visualizations • Use of iconography and text to speed understanding

Eric S. Atchison, Arkansas State University System

Wendy Kallina, PhD, Agnes Scott College

Visualizing Data to Measure and Communicate State and

System Metrics