TABLEAU

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Tableau resources for combining multiple data sources

Now that you have some experience working with data in Tableau, you are ready to start doing more, including combining multiple data sources. This reading will provide you with some how-to guides for that, and other helpful resources you can use as you practice using Tableau on your own. 

Resource	Description
Set up data sources	This page links to other resources explaining how to set up your data sources and prepare them for analysis once you have connected them to your Tableau account. It specifically includes articles explaining how to join or blend data, and what a union is and how they work. This is a great starting point as you get ready to begin using and combining data sources.
Join your data	Joining refers to the process of combining data sources based on common fields. This article gives a more detailed explanation of the different joins, how to use them in Tableau, and an example join with a step-by-step guide.
Don’t be scared of relationships	Relationships allow you to combine multiple data sources in Tableau. This is a more flexible alternative to joins, and doesn’t force you to create one single table with your multiple data sources. This article will give you more insight into how relationships work.
How relationships differ from joins	This article goes into more detail about the differences between using relationships and joins, and guides you through the process of using relationships to combine data.
Blend your data	Data blending is another method you can use to combine multiple data sources. Instead of truly combining the data, blends allow you to query and aggregate data from multiple sources. This resource goes into more detail about blending and includes a tutorial.
Combining multiple date fields	This resource provides examples that explain how to combine date fields when using four different methods of data combination in Tableau.

These are just a few resources you can use. You can also find more information online or in the Tableau community forums.

• What is Data Storytelling?

• The Art of Storytelling in Analytics and Data Science | How to Create Data Stories?

• Use Data and Analytics to Tell a Story

• Tell a Meaningful Story With Data

Additional resources

Here are a few more resources you can reference as you learn more about charts in spreadsheets: 

• Graphs in Google Sheets: Not only does this resource contain a detailed example of chart creation in spreadsheets, but it also provides you with downloadable sample data you can use to practice. As you have learned throughout this course, practicing these skills helps you learn more about the tools you are using. This example data is a great way to start!

• Add and edit a chart or graph in Google Sheets: This article includes steps for creating, editing, and changing charts in Google Sheets with how-to videos. It also has a more in-depth guide to editing and customizing your chart after you have created it.  

• Create a Microsoft Excel chart from start to finish: This how-to guide from Microsoft’s support site includes instructions and a video tutorial for adding charts to Excel spreadsheets. This is a useful resource if you are working specifically with Excel spreadsheets. It also links to other useful articles about creating charts in Excel. 

• Microsoft Excel: Creating and modifying charts: This is an explanation of Excel charts with downloadable handouts. This resource is especially useful because it has downloadable content that you can save to reference later when you start creating charts in your own spreadsheets.

Activity overview

The video you just watched showed you how to create a dashboard in Tableau. Now, you can use the template, dataset, and instructions in this activity to create the visualization yourself. Feel free to refer back to the previous video if you get stuck.

In previous activities, you linked data sources and created data visualizations. Now, you’ll use what you learned about the process of data visualization to add data to a dashboard.

By the time you complete this activity, you will be able to create and use a dashboard to present data in an accessible and interactive way. This will enable you to communicate your work and display dynamic data in professional settings.

Note: You will need the Tableau Public Desktop app to import the Dashboards Starter Template in this activity. For more information on downloading the Tableau Public app, see the Reading: Optional: Using Tableau Desktop. If you are unable to download the app to your device, use the two visualizations you created in the last Tableau activities as Sheet 1 and Sheet 2 of this activity.

What you will need

A starter template with a few existing data sources and visualizations and a data set have been provided. Click the link to the folder containing the starter template and data set.

If you are logged into your Google Account:

Click and drag to highlight both the template and the data set. Then, right-click on the selected files and click Download.

If you are not logged into your Google Account:

To download both items, click the DOWNLOAD ALL button in the top right corner of the page. You do not need a Google account to download the files.

Download the starter template and data set: Starter template and data set

Open the template and load the data

In a business context, data visualizations are most useful when they are presented in a dashboard-style format to stakeholders. Dashboards put all the pertinent information in the same place, making it easier to understand the important takeaways. Many dashboards are also constantly updating to reflect new data, and some are even interactive. No matter what style of dashboard you choose, they can help you deliver the work you’ve done when creating visualizations. 

Now it's time to begin the activity. After you download the Dashboards Starter Template, find the file in your storage and open it in Tableau Public Desktop.

Upon opening the Tableau project template, your screen should look like this:

there are multiple multi-colored lines each representing different data

The Dashboards Starter Template workbook allows you to explore and manipulate the visualizations found in two sheets: Sheet 1 and Sheet 2. However, the Tableau workbook does not contain the actual dataset. Next, you will load the dataset. 

To load the actual dataset:

1. Click the Data Source tab in the bottom left-hand corner of the window. This will open the Datasources folder Tableau Public has created on your computer by default. 

2. Navigate to the location on your computer where you downloaded the World Bank CO2 dataset and open it.

3. Locate the My Tableau Repository folder on your computer. This is usually placed in the Documents folder of your local files. If you cannot find the folder, use the search bar in your computer’s file explorer.

4. Double-click the folder My Tableau Repository, then double-click the folder Datasources.

5. Drag your datasets for Tableau from where you downloaded them into the Datasources folder. This will help you keep track of your datasets for various projects and stay organized. 

Note: As a best practice, you should always move your datasets for Tableau into the Datasources folder.

Create a dashboard

The example project contains the World Bank CO2 dataset, with two separate visualizations. Click Sheet 1. This visualization shows the average CO2 per capita of each country. Now, click Sheet 2. This visualization is a line chart of the CO2 production of each global region over time. 

You will use these visualizations to create a dashboard. Click the Add Dashboard button, which is the middle button on the bottom row with a symbol that appears like a spreadsheet with a plus sign.

This will open a new dashboard. Your screen should appear like this:

Now, you just need to add some visualizations to your dashboard. 

Add visualizations

To add visualizations, drag the appropriate sheets onto the dashboard in the layout that you prefer. In this case, you’ll add the map visualization from Sheet 1 on top of the line graph from Sheet 2. 

1. Start by finding Sheet 1 in the Sheets section on the left side of the screen. Click and drag Sheet 1 onto the area that says Drop sheets here. Your screen should appear like this:

2. Click and drag Sheet 2 onto the visualization. You’ll notice that the visualization adjusts to show the layout depending on where you drag the sheet. Place Sheet 2 so that it takes up the bottom half.

Clean the dashboard

The dashboard currently contains three legends, but only two of them are needed. The topmost legend of grayscale values represents the CO2 Per Capita by size.  

CO2 per capita is represented by size and color. As such, Tableau creates two legends. To simplify the visualization, your best choice is to delete the topmost legend that corresponds to size. 

The relationship between small and large emissions can be interpreted by the relative sizes of the circles. However, the color representing the number of emissions per capita is not interpretable without the legend.    

1. Delete the topmost legend. To do this, click it and then click the X attached to it to remove it from the dashboard. 

Now that it’s been removed, you’ll set the remaining legends to float. 

2. Click on a legend.

3. Click the arrow pointing downwards for More Options. From there, select Floating.

4. Drag the legend onto the top-right corner of the map visualization.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 and float the remaining legend onto the top-right corner of the bottom graph. Once you’ve done it, your dashboard should appear like this:

You’ve now created a basic dashboard. Tableau contains tons of other functionality that allows for dashboards that update in real-time or interactive dashboards and visualizations.