Lost in translation: Transforming survey data to get started with Tableau

Abstract

IR professionals must not only collect, analyze, disseminate, and archive information about their institutions, they must also report findings to a wide variety of stakeholders. One way to communicate information to a broad audience is through interactive data visualizations. Data visualization tools, such as Tableau, are often built with a mindset that may not be as familiar to today's IR professional, and learning a new tool from a different educational culture may be daunting. This presentation aims to bridge the gap between traditional data-analyst-thinking with tools such as SPSS and business intelligence tools such as Tableau. Participants will learn about the merits of "long" versus "wide" data and tips for converting from one format to another. Participants will learn how to use these converted data in Tableau; how Tableau jargon maps to traditional data-analyst terminology; and ways to get started using survey data in Tableau.