MEDI-CAPS UNIVERSITY

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Data Visualization (CS3ED10)

Experiment 6: Use of Google data studio to create charts-I (Pie chart, Bar chart,
Line chart, Box Plot).

Google Looker Studio, also known as Google Data Studio, is a user-friendly tool
that helps you visualize and analyze data from various sources, making it easier
to understand and make informed decisions.
Your digital marketing and advertising data can become overwhelming fast.
Google Analytics and Google Ads each have enough data to keep you busy for
days, which doesn’t help when you want to share a simple, to-the-point report
with your company’s leaders. That’s why Google developed Google Data Studio,
also known as Data Studio.

What is Google Data Studio?

Google Data Studio, also called Data Studio, is a free reporting and data
visualization tool. It pulls data from up to 12 different sources, including Google
Analytics, and combines them into an easy-to-modify, easy-to-share, and easy-
to-read report.

The platform also features widgets, graphs, charts, and maps to visualize your
data. With Google Data Studio, your team can save time and money by creating,
reading, and sharing reports in a matter of minutes. The usability and versatility
of Data Studio helps your business and team make faster decisions and achieve
better results.

While reporting software can cost thousands of dollars, ultimately cutting into
your bottom line, Google continues to answer the needs of marketers and
business owners by offering a free solution to data reporting. With Google Data
Studio, you have a simple, free, and easy-to-use platform for explaining complex
pieces of data.
In October 2018, the free version of Google Data Studio became available.
Previously, Data Studio was a paid reporting and data visualization tool called
Google Data Studio 360. Since its release, companies and digital marketing
agencies have rapidly adopted Data Studio due to its ease of use, convenience,
and several other advantages.

How to add a chart

To add a chart to the current page:
1. Edit your report.
2. Navigate to the page that will contain the chart.
3. In the tool bar, click Add a chart.
4. Select the chart you want to add.
5. Click the canvas to add the chart to the report.
6. Select one or more charts to move or resize them as needed.

Creating a Bar Chart: A bar chart uses horizontal or vertical bars to show
comparisons among categories. The bigger the value represented by a longer
bar, the more extensive it is. The comparison categories are shown on one axis,
while the discrete value is shown on the other.
Here are 2 bar charts from the Google Analytics data source. The base
dimension for both charts is Medium:
• The left-hand chart uses stacked bars to show several metrics (Sessions,
Users, and Exits) for medium.
• The right-hand chart uses a second dimension, Country ISO Code, to
breakdown each medium
How to add a column or bar chart?
Select a bar chart from the "Bars" section by clicking on the "Add a chart"
button on the toolbar.
Chart Settings
The properties panel on the right of the chart can be used to adjust the chart
choices after clicking on the chart.
Data Tab
This tab shows settings related to the data source.
• Data source: A data source lets you to connect to the data set you want to
use. Data source options are: change the data source, view/edit the data
source, add a blended data source.
• Dimension: Dimensions are categories for your data, and dimension
values are a name, description or other characteristic of a category. You
can choose dimensions either directly from the available fields or by
 clicking the "Add Dimension" link. Dimensions may differ according to cart
types. For example geo charts's dimensions will be only locations.
• Drill down: If the chart supports it, this option is shown. Drilling down
allows users to access further levels of information. It becomes easier to
observe the tiniest of details when you turn on Drill down.
• Breakdown dimension: Using a chart's Breakdown dimension, you can
examine the breakdown of data by a certain axis. Here is an example; Age
is the main dimension and gender is the breakdown dimension.

• Metric: Metrics are used to measure the contents of dimensions and

provide the chart with a numeric scale and data series. Drag fields from
the Available Fields tab on the right onto the chart to add measurements.
You can also click Add metric in the Data tab.
• Optional metrics allows you to select more than 1 metric and viewer will
able to change them.
• Metric Slider gives the viewer an option to filter desired metric value to
view. For example, you can limit the chart to only show Average Orders
where the total value is between $100 and $200. (not all charts offer this
option)

At least 1 metric is required. You can have up to 20 metrics in a single-

dimensional graphic. One metric can be used for charts with two dimensions.
• Setting the default sort: The Sort and Secondary sort options control the
default sorting behaviour. You can select any metric in the chart's data
source, or any dimension currently displayed in the chart, to use as the
 primary or secondary sorting field. The Secondary sort option only
appears when there is an appropriate combination of dimensions and
metrics in the chart.
• Filter: Filter help filter the raw data which is coming from the data source.
It might be helpful when you want to include specific values or exclude
some. For example, you might want to exclude ad campaigns with zero
impressions.
• Google Analytics segment: This option appears for charts based on a
Universal Analytics data source. A segment is a subset of your Analytics
data. You can apply segments to your Data Studio charts to help ensure
that your Data Studio and Google Analytics reports show the same data.
• Interactions : An interaction on a chart is similar to a filter control when
enabled. Here is an example, on this dashboard, campaign table has the
interactions option activated. So viewer can click on any row and top
metrics represent metrics of this selected row.

Style tab
A chart's style properties control the overall presentation and appearance of the
chart.
Bar Chart: This section controls the overall appearance and layout of your chart.
depending on the type of the bar chart, you might see different options from
below.
• Vertical: Displays the data series as vertical bars.
• Horizontal: Displays the data series as horizontal bars.
• Bars: Determines the number of data series shown in the chart. If the
number of series selected is less than the number of series in your data,
only the top N series will be shown (where N equals the number of series
you've selected).
• Series: Determines the number of secondary dimension series shown in
the chart. If the number of series selected is less than the number of
 series in your data, only the top N series will be shown (where N equals
the number of series you've selected).
• Stacked Bars: When checked, the chart displays stacked bars. Otherwise,
the chart displays grouped bars.
• 100% Stacking: When checked, stacked charts show the contribution of
each data series to 100% of the total value.
• Show Data Labels: When checked, displays the value for each series in the
chart.
• Compact Numbers: To display the following choice, toggle on Show data
labels: The unit indicator is displayed after the numbers are rounded. E.g.,
553.939 becomes 553.9K.
Reference lines: This lets you compare your data to reference data. For example,
you can use reference lines to visualize daily sales against a target sales figure.
Color by: Here you can change color settings.
Axes: In this section, you can change the axis titles and scales that appear on the
chart axises itself. When your chart has more than one measure, a right Y-axis
segment will show.
• Show axes: Makes chart axes visible or hidden.
• Reverse Y-Axis direction: This option controls the vertical presentation of
the Y-axis in a reverse way.
• Reverse X-Axis direction: To control horizontal display, use the Reverse X-
Axis Direction option.
• Show axis title: The axis labels can be shown or hidden.
• Axis min and max: Set the Y-axes' minimum and maximum values using
the axis min and max options.
• Custom tick interval: The interval between axis ticks can be set to a
custom value.
• Log scale: The Y-axis scale is transformed into a logarithmic one.
Grid: The chart grid's appearance can be customized using the Grid settings.
• Axis color: Specifies the color of the x-axis line.
 • Grid color: Specifies the color of the grid lines.
• Chart background: Specifies the color of the chart background.
• Chart border colour: Specifies the color of the inner chart border.
Background and border: The chart's background container can be customized
using the background and border settings.
• Background: Changes the chart background colour.
• Border Radius: The chart's backdrop will have rounded edges if you use
the Border Radius setting. The background form has 90-degree corners
when the radius is zero. In order to create a circular shape, a boundary
radius of 100° is needed.
• Opacity: Sets the transparency of the chart. Objects behind the chart are
entirely obscured by 100% opacity. The chart is invisible when the opacity
is set to 0%.
• Border Color: Changes the chart border colour.
• Border Weight: Specifies the chart border line thickness.
• Border Style: Specifies the chart borderline style.
• Add border shadow: Adds a shadow to the chart lower and right borders.
Chart Header: Viewers can take a variety of activities on the chart, including
exporting the data, diving down or going to the Explorer tool. You can choose a
show on hover - which is the default, always show and do not show.

Create a line chart in Looker Studio

To create a line chart that shows sales over months for different order types, we
have two options: a basic line chart or a time series.
Since we want to see how the data changes over time, a time series is best for
this case. We can save a few steps using it rather than using a basic line chart.
Now follow the steps below to add a time series:
• Click Add a chart icon in the toolbar, then select Time series chart.
• Drag the time series under the scorecard and resize it as needed.
 3. To break down the metric into different order types, add a breakdown
dimension: OrderType.
Note: You can also drag-and-drop a column from the Available Fields list.
As a result, you’ve got two lines in the chart for wholesale and retail sales.

4. It does not look fancy, right? Let’s fix it. Hover over
the OrderDate dimension, then click the pencil icon. Change the field’s
data type to Month and name it “Month”.
Note: In this case, we’re changing a field’s data type in a chart. This won’t
change the original OrderDate field in your data source. It’s a best practice to
always have a full Date or Date & Time field in your data source. Then, if
necessary, you can adjust its type in a chart.
6. When done, close the pop-up by clicking anywhere outside it. See that
the x-axis of your chart now displays the month names.
Create a Pie Chart in google looker studio:
Pie charts present numerical information in a circular form, with sections of the
circle representing the range of data series.
Pie charts are useful for displaying a small number of data points with large
variations in proportion, making them great for visualizing proportions of
qualitative and numeric data.
Pie charts have many uses, but they are often used to display the simplest
representation of data.
How do pie charts work?
Pie charts are easy to read, particularly if you’re a fan of circular data
visualizations. You’ll notice that pie charts display slices specifically numbered
and labelled according to their overall proportion in the whole (ex. 50% is half of
the entire data set).
Below you can see 2 pie charts. First, one shows the source of website visitors
and the second one shows visitors' gender distribution.
How to add a pie chart to Google Data Studio?
In order to add a pie chart to your report, click the "Add a chart" button on the
toolbar and select the pie chart or ring chart. As you can see from the short
video below, you can change pie to ring or vice versa.
Chart Settings
Click on the chart, afterwards on the right, use the properties panel to change
the chart options.

Data Tab
This tab shows settings related to the data source.
Data source: A data source lets you to connect to the data set you want to use.
Data source options are: change the data source, view/edit the data source, add
a blended data source.
Dimension: Dimensions are categories for your data, and dimension values are a
name, description or another characteristic of a category. You can choose
dimensions either directly from the available fields or by clicking the "Add
Dimension" link. Dimensions may differ according to cart types. For example,
geo charts' dimensions will be only locations.
Drill down: This option appears if the chart support it. Drilling down gives
viewers a way to reveal additional levels of detail. When you turn on Drill down,
****each dimension you add becomes another level of detail you can see. Here
is an example of how drill down works;
Breakdown dimension: The Breakdown dimension is a way to see how the data
in a chart is broken down by a selected dimension. Here is an example; Age is
the main dimension and gender is the breakdown dimension.
Metric: Metrics are used to measure the contents of dimensions and provide
the chart with a numeric scale and data series. Drag fields from the Available
Fields tab on the right onto the chart to add measurements. You can also click
Add metric in the Data tab.
Optional metrics allows you to select more than 1 metric and the viewer will be
able to change them.
Metric Slider gives the viewer an option to filter desired metric value to view.
For example, you can limit the chart to only show Average Orders where the
total value is between $100 and $200. (not all charts offer this option)

At least 1 metric is required. You can have up to 20 metrics in a single-

dimensional graphic. One metric can be used for charts with two dimensions.
Setting the default sort: The Sort and Secondary sort options control the default
sorting behaviour. You can select any metric in the chart's data source, or any
dimension currently displayed in the chart, to use as the primary or secondary
sorting field. The Secondary sort option only appears when there is an
appropriate combination of dimensions and metrics in the chart.
Default Date Range: This lets you choose the date scope of the data.
Style tab
A chart's style properties control the overall presentation and appearance of the
chart.
Colour by: Here you can change colour settings.
Labels: Change the appearance of labels. Always double check as a viewer after
making changes. Too small or large fonts might overlap from the borders or
might look too small to read.
• Font colour: Changes the font colour of the scorecard label.
 • Font size: Changes the font size of the scorecard label.
• Font family: Changes the font family of the scorecard label.
• Hide Metric Name: Hides the default metric name (which comes from the
data source). You can use the Text tool to add a custom metric label.
• Alignment: Align the metric name, primary value, and comparison value.
Background and border: These options control the appearance of the chart
background container.
• Background: Sets the chart background colour.
• Border Radius: Adds rounded borders to the chart background. When the
radius is 0, the background shape has 90° corners. A border radius of 100°
produces a circular shape.
• Opacity: Sets the chart's opacity. 100% opacity completely hides objects
behind the chart. 0% opacity makes the chart invisible.
• Border Color: Sets the chart border colour.
• Border Weight: Sets the chart border line thickness.
• Border Style: Sets the chart borderline style.
• Add border shadow: Adds a shadow to the chart lower and right borders.
Legend:
• None: No legend appears
• Right: Legend appears on the right.
• Bottom: Legend appears on the bottom.
• Top: Legend appears on the top.
• Alignment: Sets the alignment of the legend relative to the selected
position.
• Max lines Set the number of lines used by the legend. If the number of
series requires more lines, overflow items can be displayed by clicking the
< and > arrows.
Chart Header: The chart header lets viewers perform various actions on the
chart, such as exporting the data, drilling up or down, and viewing the chart in
the Explorer tool. You can choose a show on hover - which is the default, always
show and do not show.