Win with Data: Use Tableau’s Reader-friendly Bubble Charts
Bubble charts are a type of chart in Tableau that allows you to visualize data with three dimensions: x-axis, y-axis, and size. The x-axis and y-axis represent the data points, while the size of the bubbles represents the third dimension of the data.
A bubble chart in Tableau is a type of data visualization that uses circles (bubbles) to represent data points, where the size of the bubbles represents one measure and the position on the x-axis and y-axis represents two other measures. It is a variation of a scatter plot, where the size of the bubbles can be used to show the relative importance or magnitude of the data points.
In Tableau, bubble charts can be created by connecting to a data source, dragging a dimension to the Columns or Rows shelf, and two measures to the opposite and size shelf. Then, you can use the “Bubble” option under the Show Me tab to create the chart. This will create a chart with the dimension on the x-axis and y-axis and the measures determining the position and size of the bubbles.
Bubble charts are useful for showing the relationship between multiple variables, where the size of the bubbles can represent the magnitude or importance of the data points. They can be used to show the distribution of data points and to identify outliers, clusters and the correlation between variables. They are used in many fields such as finance, marketing, and social science where the data is multidimensional and wants to show the relationship between the variables.
To create a bubble chart in Tableau, follow these steps:
- Open Tableau and connect to the data you want to use.
- Drag and drop the measure you want to use for the size of the bubbles onto the Size field in the Marks card.
- Drag and drop the dimensions you want to use for the x-axis and y-axis onto the respective fields in the Marks card.
- Select the bubble chart option from the Show Me panel.
- Customize the appearance of the chart by adjusting the marks, labels, and other chart options as needed.
Bubble charts are useful for visualizing data with three dimensions and can help you see patterns and trends that might not be apparent in other types of charts. They can also be used to compare the size of different data points to each other.