Tableau is a widely used business intelligence tool used to analyse and visualise data. You can use Tableau to create a single interactive visualisation, or create a series of visualisations that can be easily transformed into a interactive dashboard. Check out Tableau's Viz of the Day to see the power of visual storytelling with Tableau.
The Digital Skills Lab is currently running a four part workshop series in Tableau. Workshops will take place in person throughout the year. Click on the links below to book your place or express an interest so that you are notified as soon as workshops are available to book.
The session will take place on campus in LRB.R.08 in the lower ground floor of the Library.
If you can't find what you're looking for below, please email digital.skills.lab@lse.ac.uk or attend one of our drop-in sessions for advice.
We also have workshops and self-study courses in SPSS, Stata, Python and R. See below if you're not sure which is right for you.
Tableau vs SPSS/Stata
SPSS/Stata are primarily for data analysis, whereas Tableau is primarily for data visualisation with very limited analyitical functionality. If your focus is data visualisation then Tableau is likely the better option; if you are focusing on analysis then Stata/SPSS are likely the best option. All three have drop down menu/drag and drop interfaces and all would require a licence; Tableau does offer Tableau Public which is a open-source more limited version of Tableau.
Tableau vs R/Python
The main advantage of Tableau over R/Python is the lower barrier of entry to making great visualisations, as you do not need to learn to programme. This makes Tableau easier to access and learn. The main pro of using R/Python over Tableau is that R/Python are open-source, and can be more flexible, allowing you to utilise more options from the wide array of libraries R/Python have.
Tableau Workshop Series
This workshop series provides you with the primary tools and concepts for building data visualisations with Tableau, allowing you to build your confidence and continue learning independently.
In this workshop you will learn the basics of using Tableau and will build three simple visualisations.
By the end of these sessions you will understand how to:
- Import data into Tableau
- Use the Tableau interface
- Make tables, bar plots, and scatter plots
Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:
Tableau 1: Introduction to Tableau
In this workshop you will learn how to perform filtering and sorting on your visualisations.
By the end of these sessions you will understand how to:
- Apply different filters to your visualisations
- Use sets, or subsets, to explore different parts of your data
- Apply different sorting parameters to your visualisations
Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:
Tableau 2: Filtering and Sorting
In this workshop you will learn how to use Tableau to visualise geographic data, and how to link geographic data to location data.
By the end of these sessions you will understand how to:
- Use Tableau to visualise geographic data
- Link geographic data to location data using relationships
Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:
Tableau 3: Geographic Data and Relationships
In this workshop you will learn how to use Tableau to visualise time series data, as well as how to make and visualise aggregated data.
By the end of these sessions you will understand how to:
- Use Tableau to visualise time series data
- Use Tableau to do row-wise aggregations with Calculated Fields
- Add forecast data to your visualisations using Tableau
Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:
Tableau 4: Time Series and Aggregations
In this workshop you will learn how to use Tableau to perform more advanced aggregations and calculations.
By the end of these sessions you will understand how to:
- Use different types of table calculations to manipulate your aggregated data
- Use Level of Detail (LOD) calculations to make custom aggregations
Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:
Tableau 5: From Basic to LOD Calculations
In this workshop you will learn how to use Tableau to make your visualisations more interactive and user friendly.
By the end of these sessions you will understand how to:
- Improve the user friendliness of your visualisations
- Break or slice your figures into separate views using pages
- Add custom interactive filters to your visualisations using parameters
Click on the link below to check availability and book your place:
Tableau 6: Pages and Parameters