Visual Analytics 101

Our Visual Analytics 101 course provides an introduction to the topic for anyone with an interest, but little or no experience, of analysing large amounts of data using visual techniques. The course focuses on the principles, techniques and benefits of visual analytics and explores a number of familiar scenarios using the techniques and tools including Tableau and Visokio Omniscope.

The course starts by exploring the thinking behind visual analytics as a technique, illustrating the many ways in which complex data can be presented, detected and assimilated by the human vision system. Some basic principles of visual perception are examined, along with a number of examples which serve to demonstrate the power of visual perception when dealing with multi-dimensional data.

From this theoretical basis, the course proceeds to showcase a range of different visual models - some familiar, some less so - in order to examine where each is useful, the strengths and weaknesses of each, and again addresses common data analysis tasks, examining the potential of these visualisations and comparing each with traditional numeric alternatives.

Finally, we explore the capabilities, similarities and differences of three different tools which provide different degrees of, and approaches to, visual analytics. Starting with the familiar world of Microsoft Excel, we consider how to use visual analytics techniques to best convey information otherwise locked in tables. We then take Excel data and load it into both Tableau and Visokio Omniscope - exploring the interactive visual analytics offered by both tools, as well as identifying key differences in capability, architecture and deployment.

We close the course with a creative exercise - taking a raw data set, every pupil is encouraged to use their tool of choice (Excel, Omniscope or Tableau) to explore the data visually and derive both visually interesting and informative presentations, as well as identify key trends and behaviours within the data.

In summary, the Visual Analytics 101 course provides an ideal grounding in best-practice tools and techniques and is an excellent foundation for other Atheon Analytics training courses.