Common technique for Visualization:

histogram

Histograms:

  • What It Does: A histogram displays the frequency distribution of a single variable by dividing the data into intervals (or bins) and showing how many data points fall into each interval.
  • Purpose: Helps identify the shape of the data distribution (e.g., normal, skewed, bimodal) and detect any outliers.
  • Example Use: If you want to understand how customer age is distributed in a dataset, a histogram can show whether most customers are in their 20s or 40s, etc.

Tools to Create Histograms:

  • Python (Matplotlib, Seaborn): Popular libraries for plotting histograms in Python.
  • Excel: Built-in histogram chart functionality for simple datasets.
  • Tableau: Easy drag-and-drop functionality to generate histograms.

 

box plot


Box Plots:

  • What It Does: A box plot, also called a box-and-whisker plot, provides a graphical summary of the distribution of a dataset by displaying its quartiles, median, and potential outliers.
Purpose: Highlights the central tendency (median), spread (interquartile range), and outliers in the data.
  • Example Use: In a dataset of employee salaries, a box plot can show the distribution of salaries, detect skewness, and identify outliers such as exceptionally high earners.

Tools to Create Box Plots:

  • Python (Seaborn, Matplotlib): Easily customizable box plots.
  • R (ggplot2): Another powerful tool for detailed box plots.
  • Plotly: A web-based and Python-friendly tool for interactive visualizations.

 

scatter plot


Scatter Plots:

  • What It Does: A scatter plot is used to show the relationship between two continuous variables. Each data point is plotted along the x-axis and y-axis based on its values for the two variables.
  • Purpose: Helps in identifying correlations, trends, or clusters. A scatter plot is often used to detect linear or non-linear relationships between variables.
  • Example Use: Plotting house size against house price to see if there is a correlation between these two variables.

Tools to Create Scatter Plots:

  • Python (Matplotlib, Seaborn): Well-suited for creating scatter plots.
  • Excel: Simple scatter plot functionality for smaller datasets.
  • Power BI: Useful for business data visualization with interactive scatter plots.

 

heatmap


Heatmaps:

  • What It Does: A heatmap is a color-coded grid that represents data values using varying color intensity. It is frequently used to display correlation matrices or large datasets in a visually appealing format.
  • Purpose: Heatmaps are particularly effective for identifying patterns, correlations, and clusters within large datasets, especially when dealing with multiple variables.
  • Example Use: In a correlation matrix, a heatmap can reveal which variables are strongly correlated with each other based on the intensity of the colors.

Tools to Create Heatmaps:

  • Python (Seaborn): Seaborn’s heatmap() function is widely used for correlation matrices and heatmaps.
  • Tableau: Heatmaps can be created with a few clicks, and users can easily customize color intensity.
  • Google Data Studio: Allows for the creation of heatmaps based on data from various sources.

 

Common tools for EDA and Visualization:

Python Libraries:

    • Matplotlib: A widely-used plotting library for creating static, interactive, and animated visualizations.
    • Seaborn: Built on top of Matplotlib, it offers higher-level, more aesthetically pleasing graphs.
    • Plotly: A library for interactive web-based visualizations.
    • Pandas (with Matplotlib integration): Offers simple plot functions directly from dataframes.
R:
    • ggplot2: A powerful package in R for creating complex, customizable graphs.
    • Shiny: Allows the building of interactive web applications with R, including visualizations.
Tableau:
    • A popular data visualization tool that provides an intuitive interface for building a wide variety of interactive charts, maps, and dashboards without needing to write code.
Power BI:
    • A business analytics tool from Microsoft that enables interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities with a user-friendly interface.
Excel:
    • Offers basic data visualization tools like histograms, scatter plots, and heatmaps. It’s ideal for small datasets and quick analysis.