META MARKETING ANALYTICS PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE
Course 2: Introduction to Data Analytics
Week 4: Introduction to Data Visualization
Coursera Study Guide
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CONTENT
- PRACTICE QUIZ: CHART TYPES AND BASIC TABLEAU GRAPHS
- PRACTICE QUIZ: BUILDING CHARTS IN TABLEAU II PRACTICE
- EXEMPLAR: TABLEAU INTERACTIVITY PRACTICE
- GRADED QUIZ: INTRODUCTION TO DATA VISUALIZATION
This week you’ll be introduced to the Tableau platform which you will use to create data visualizations and dashboards. You’ll learn different types of visualization and their use cases.
Learning Objectives
- Visualize data patterns and trends with spreadsheets
- Visualize data patterns and trends with Tableau
- Create good storytelling about data using visualizations
- Understand different visualizations and where they are relevant
PRACTICE QUIZ: CHART TYPES AND BASIC TABLEAU GRAPHS
1. Which chart type best describes this chart:
- Scatter Plot
- Line Chart
- Pie Chart
- Bar Chart (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! A bar chart is a chart or graph that presents categorical data as rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent. They are useful for showing comparisons among discrete categories.
2. What does the trend line in this scatter plot suggest about the relationship between the duration of Old Faithful’s eruptions and the wait-time between eruptions?

- The longer an eruption lasts the shorter the time you’re likely to have waited between eruptions
- The longer you wait between eruptions the longer an eruption is likely to last (CORRECT)
- That the average wait time between eruptions is approximately 64 minutes
- That the average duration of an eruption is approximately 39 minutes
Correct: Correct. The trend line in this scatter plot clearly shows a trend upward on the Y-axis (the duration axis) as it moves to the right on the X-axis (the wait-time axis). This suggests that the longer you wait between eruptions the longer the eruption is likely to last.
3. True or false: Tableau can only connect to data from an Excel file or CSV file?
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: That’s right. Excel and CSV files are two of the more common types of data sources, but Tableau supports the ability to connect to a wide variety of data stored in a variety of ways.
4. Which type of chart is usually best suited for visualizing the relationship of measurements to another ordered series of data, such as time?
- A Line Chart (CORRECT)
- A Map
- A Scatter Plot
- A Bar Chart
Correct: Yes! Because the measurement points are ordered and connected into a continuous line, Line Charts are an ideal way to visualize a trend in data over intervals of time, so that the line is drawn chronologically. But, you can also use a Line Chart to illustrate the relationship of measurements to any ordered series, not only time. Review this week’s video on “Common Chart Types” for more information about the different types of charts.
5. In Tableau, charts are created in a worksheet. Which of the following actions will create a new worksheet?
Which query will return the company, internet expenditure, and quarter in descending order of internet expenditure?
- Clicking a “New Worksheet” button at the bottom of an open worksheet screen
- Connecting to a data source from the Tableau Start Page, when you start a new project
- Clicking a “New Worksheet” button at the bottom of the Data Source screen
- A, B, and C, above, are all correct (CORRECT)
- None of the above are correct
Correct: That’s right! Tableau will create your initial worksheet when you connect to a data source at the beginning of your project. Then, you can create additional worksheets by clicking the “New Worksheet” button, which can be found both at the bottom of an open worksheet screen and at the bottom of the Data Source screen
6. True or false: The order in which you double-click a data field may affect the chart that Tableau generates?
- False
- True (CORRECT)
Correct: This is true. The data type of the first field you select can determine things like the type of chart that Tableau generates, or which data is assigned to an axis. We saw this in our examples from the video, “Creating Your First Chart,” where first selecting a geographic type from a pair of data fields created a map, whereas first selecting a numeric type, from the same pair of fields, created a bar chart.
7. On the Tableau start page, which of the following connection types would you select if you want to connect to data in a CSV file?
- Spatial file
- Odata
- Text file (CORRECT)
- Microsoft Access
- JSON file
- Microsoft Excel
Correct: That’s right! You can connect to a CSV file by selecting the “Text file” option. This is because a CSV file is just a type of text file with each line of text representing a row of data separated by commas. So, these kinds of data sources are known as “Comma-Separated Values,” or “CSV,” files.
8. True or false: If you change the name of a column in Tableau’s data preview pane, this will change the data in your Excel or CSV file.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: That’s right. Once you connect Tableau to a data source, any changes you make in the preview will only affect how it appears in Tableau. Your data source files will remain unaffected by these changes. This ensures that your original data will always be safe!
PRACTICE QUIZ: BUILDING CHARTS IN TABLEAU II PRACTICE
1. True or False: you can use the “Show Me” tool even after you’ve created a chart using other methods?
- False
- True (CORRECT)
Correct: That’s right! The “Show Me” toolbar is always available to you, for any given chart. You may have charted some data for which there are other chart options available. The “Show Me” toolbar will show you those options and let you choose a new chart type.
2.

According to the chart above, which U.S. State hired workers for 17,342,587 jobs in 2013?
- Texas.
- Wyoming.
- Alaska.
- California. (CORRECT)
Correct: That’s correct! The Legend in the upper right of this chart shows that the number of jobs in a state is higher as its representation on the map is colored a darker green; and that the highest number of jobs represented for 2013 (i.e., the darkest green) is 17,342,587 jobs:

In the map from the chart above, California is the state with the darkest green color and, therefore, the highest number of jobs.
3. In Tableau, for charts that are drawn on a pair of axes, how do you specify what data you want represented on the vertical axis (or Y-axis)?
- By dragging the target data field from the Data Pane to the “Detail” button on the Marks Shelf.
- By dragging the target data field from the Data Pane to the “Label” button on the Marks Shelf.
- By dragging the target data field from the Data Pane to the “Row Shelf.” (CORRECT)
- By dragging the target data field from the Data Pane to the “Column Shelf.”
Correct: That’s correct! For charts that are drawn on a pair of axes, you can specify what data you want represented on the vertical axis (or Y-axis) by dragging the target data field from the Data Pane to the “Row Shelf.” Likewise, to specify the data you want represented on the horizontal axis (or X-axis), you can drag a target data field from the Data Pane to the “Column Shelf.”
4. Of all the chart-making options we’ve covered, which of these is “easiest” (i.e., requires the least input from you)?
- The “double-click” method. (CORRECT)
- The “Show Me” tool.
- The “drag-and-drop” method.
Correct: Yes, that’s right. With the “double-click” method, all you have to do is double-click on data fields that interest you and Tableau will automatically generate the chart that it interprets to be most useful for that data. However, with more “difficulty” comes more flexibility! And, the more you practice all the chart-making techniques, the “easier” all these methods will become.
EXEMPLAR: TABLEAU INTERACTIVITY PRACTICE
1. Create a Date filter for the % of Mobile Usage by Operating System chart.
Here’s a quick test to see if your interactive elements are working properly. Using your Date filter and the various highlighters, find out what the “Avg. Percent of Usage” was for the “SymbianOS” operating system on 8/1/2013. What answer do you get?
- 6.33 (CORRECT)
- 21.79 (CORRECT)
- 14.24 (CORRECT)
Correct: That’s right! If we choose the 8/1/2013 date and select the “SymbionOS” slice of the pie chart, the Tooltip popup tells us that the “Avg. Percent of Usage” on that date was 6.33%.
Correct: That’s the wrong number. If we choose the 8/1/2013 date and select the “SymbionOS” slice of the pie chart, the Tooltip popup should tell us that the “Avg. Percent of Usage” on that date was 6.33%. The number you’ve chosen, 21.79%, was SymbianOS’s “Avg. Percent of Usage” over all recorded dates! Is your Date filter functioning properly? See video above for how to create the Date filter.
Correct: That’s the wrong number. If we choose the 8/1/2013 date and select the “SymbionOS” slice of the pie chart, the Tooltip popup should tell us that the “Avg. Percent of Usage” on that date was 6.33%. You may have selected the incorrect date or the incorrect operating system when running your test. Is your Date filter functioning properly? See video above for how to create the Date filter.
GRADED QUIZ: INTRODUCTION TO DATA VISUALIZATION
1. True or False: It’s important to craft a story for your audience so your audience has an easier time understanding complex information and process from your project.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Correct! Creating your story to the stakeholders can help your audience better understand complex ideas.
2. True or False: When creating a story around your data for your audience, making the story entertaining is one of the most important requirements.
- False (CORRECT)
- True
Correct: Correct! While it is nice to have an entertaining story, it’s not necessary or even possible given the topic. It’s more important for your story to help your audience understand your project & insights than having an entertaining story.
3. True or False: When strengthening your story, you should include an explanation of the investigation steps and describe the analysis.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Correct! You definitely should include both an explanation of the investigation steps and describe the analysis. When in your story, they communicate how you arrived at your conclusions.
4. True or False: Considering you have quantitative data, you will likely want to consider visualizations that show distributions of numerical data.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Correct! Quantitative data which use numerical values are usually best suited by visualizations that demonstrate the distributions of numerical data like scatter plots and histograms.
5. True or False: Using colors that are similar to one another in your visualization, such as differing shades of red in your pie chart, will help your audience concentrate harder on the story you’re telling.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! Using colors that are hard to distinguish can cause your audience to not see what you are talking about.
6. True or False: You should avoid using built-in color palettes in visualization software. They’re only there for people who are too lazy to design their visualization from scratch.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! Using a built-in color palette from visualization software can be very useful. Colors tend to be picked for viewability and you can even pick colorbline-accessible palettes to make your visualizations more accessible.
7. True or False: In discussing how to build a good and compelling story, the climax of the story is where we wrap up our story.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! As discussed, the climax is explaining the root cause but it’s the conclusion where we wrap up the story and identify the course of action to remedy the situation and discuss the cause of the issue.
8. Which parts of your story structure help engage the situation you are trying to describe?
- Narrative & Charisma
- Visualization & Narrative
- Narrative & Data (CORRECT)
- Visualization & Data
Correct: Correct! Data with a narrative can help explain your story’s situation and give more context to your audience.
9. True or False: It’s important to craft a story for your audience to show people how much you know.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! Creating a story for your stakeholders is important but it’s main focus is not simply to show how much you know.
10. True or False: When creating a story around your data for your audience, making the key takeaways clearly identified is one of the most important requirements.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Correct! The key takeaways are the main points of your story and you want to be sure that they’re not hidden or understated.
11. True or False: When strengthening your story, you should include data results and visualizations in the story.
- False
- True (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! You definitely should include data and visualizations in your story as it will make it easier for your audience to understand the technical details.
12. Considering you have quantitative data, select all visualization types that usually do best for this kind of data. (Select all that apply)
- Bar graphs
- Pie charts
- Scatter plots (CORRECT)
- Line plots (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! Quantitative data which use numerical values are usually best suited by visualizations like scatter plots.
Correct: Correct! Quantitative data which use numerical values are usually best suited by visualizations like line plots.
13. True or False: Swapping colors from their normal usage such as using red for “cold” and blue for “hot” are great ways to keep your audience engaged.
- False (CORRECT)
- True
Correct: Correct! Using familiar colors in unexpected ways can cause your audience to misinterpret your message.
14. True or False: When creating a story around your data for your audience, making the key takeaways clearly identified is one of the most important requirements.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Correct! The key takeaways are the main points of your story and you want to be sure that they’re not hidden or understated.
15. True or False: When strengthening your story, you should include intermediate findings and any key results.
- False
- True (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! You should include any intermediate findings and key results. Putting these in your story will identify for your audience the important takeaways in your story.
16. True or False: Using more color in your visualization is usually a better option; if your visualization only uses two or three colors you’ll want to add more to keep it interesting for your audience.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! Using too much color can actually make it harder for your audience to quickly understand your visualization. Color should be used for understanding instead of purely aesthetic reasons.
17. True or False: Red and green are great contrasting colors for your visualizations.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! Using red and green together can look fine for some but many of those who have color blindness will have a difficult time distinguishing the two colors from one another.
18. From what we discussed, what are the different parts of a story structure that can lead to an audience’s understanding and persuasion? (Select all that apply)
- Charisma
- Narrative (CORRECT)
- Visualization (CORRECT)
- Data (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! A narrative helps explain your story’s situation and help your audience engage with your story.
Correct: Correct! Visualizations can help enlighten your audience with good visuals and help your audience engage with your story.
Correct: Correct! Data with the context of your narrative can help explain your situation, and data with visualizations can help enlighten your audience with the big picture.
19. True or False: In discussing how to build a good and compelling story, the four parts were the set-up, the build-up, the climax, and the conclusion.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Correct! As discussed, these four parts can be used to create good and compelling stories to help build impactful stories.
20. True or False: When creating a story around your data for your audience, ensuring the visualizations used are appropriate is one of the most important requirements.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Correct! The appropriate visualizations can help the audience understand complicated ideas. It’s also very important since they make it easier to communicate your message, particularly when it comes to technical information.
21. True or False: Colorblindness is so rare that you really don’t need to worry about picking an accessible palette.
- True
- False (CORRECT)
Correct: Correct! First of all, making your visualizations accessible to as many people as possible is arguably the right thing to do. But you should also know that colorblindness is more common than you think so it should be at least a consideration when choosing a color palette for your visualizations.
22. Which of these charts best represents a “scatter plot?




Correct: That’s right! In a scatter plot each measurement is represented as an individual point in a Cartesian coordinate grid. This type of chart can be used to graph any pair of numerical data, one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship.
23. Which of these actions will you do first when using Tableau to create a data visualization?
- Preview the data on Tableau’s Data Source screen.
- Select a specific data table for preview
- Connect Tableau to a data source (CORRECT)
- Change the data types that Tableau assumes for your data fields.
Correct: That’s right. To get started, the first thing you will need to do is connect Tableau to the data you want to analyze. That data will be found in a data source file, such as an Excel file or a CSV file.
24. When you create a chart using the “double-click method,” what must you double-click to create the chart?
- At least one data field (CORRECT)
- A specific chart type
- A specific data type
- A worksheet tab
Correct: That’s correct. The easiest way to create a basic chart in Tableau is by double-clicking on the data fields you are interested in analyzing. Your data fields can be found in the Data pane on the left side of the worksheet. Some charts can be created from just one selected data field, but more interesting charts typically reference two or more fields.
25. Which of the following parts of the worksheet determines which data are represented as “marks” in your chart?
- The “Marks” shelf.
- The “Columns” shelf.
- The “Rows” shelf.
- All of the above choices. (CORRECT)
- None of the above choices.
Correct: Depending on the type of chart you are trying to create, all of these (the “Marks,” the “Columns,” and the “Rows” shelves) can determine which data are represented as “marks” in your chart. Which “shelf” you drag-and-drop your data field to will depend on the type of chart you want to produce.
26. True or false: a Tableau Dashboard lets you filter the data on multiple charts by interacting with a single chart?
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: That’s right. One of the interactivity options that you’re likely to find helpful allows you to choose one chart to serve as a filter for the data in other charts in your dashboard. With Tableau, you can do this by clicking the funnel icon in the options menu from the chart you want to use as a filter. Other common interactivity options include setting up a highlighting action in the Dashboard>Actions menu, or creating a filtering menu by selecting from among a chart’s list of “Filters,” found in the chart’s More Options menu.
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