Tableau Strategies

Chapter 7. Working with Geospatial Data

When was the last time you looked—and we mean really looked—at a map? Have you ever stopped to admire and acknowledge the amount of data and information they house?

Maps are one of the most powerful visualization types and perhaps the one we encounter earliest in life. Try to remember when you first understood how to read a map—it’s hard to recall, right? Many people understand maps at an almost instinctual level, which makes them useful tools for communicating data.

It’s important to remember that geographic proximity and distribution are central to any map analysis. That is really the key distinguishing factor when you’re considering making a map. Just because you can map something doesn’t mean you should.

Throughout this chapter, we will show you techniques for creating maps in Tableau. We’ll also help you see when it’s appropriate to create a map instead of something simpler, like the trusty bar chart.

In This Chapter

You’ll need a basic understanding of US geography, including the hierarchy of geographic elements like zip codes (postal codes) as they relate to cities and states. You’ll also need to download the Office Supply Store, US State Populations, and US State Attainment datasets, and the Tile Map Template.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to do the following:

• Map geographic data in Tableau, starting with a basic choropleth map

• Use custom color palettes to add clarity to your visualizations

• Normalize data

• Create symbol maps ...