Accessing the Data Packages
To access the APR data packages for your department, proceed to DePaul’s Tableau Server. Log in using your DePaul credentials, and click on the
‘Workbooks’ tab toward the top of your screen. On the left-hand side of the screen, you will see a set of filters that can be used to sort through the workbooks available to you. Click the drop-down arrow for the
‘Tag’ filter, and select the tag that corresponds to your department (e.g.,
‘English’ for the English Department). You should now see the data packages available to you through APR.
Using Tableau
Tableau is a data visualization platform that can easily present large amounts of data in a comprehensible manner. For the APR process, Tableau is used to present enrollment, survey, course, and faculty data. Much of the visualizations you will see will be in a familiar format; a bar chart, line graph, pivot table, etc. What may be unfamiliar are the tools Tableau uses to make the data filterable and navigable.
When applicable, data filters will be made available and will be located at the top of each dashboard (visualization). Depending on the package, you may be able to filter by demographic, quarter, department, undergraduate or graduate, and so on. By using a filter, the visualization will change to reflect the new parameters. Multiple filters can be applied at once, but do keep in mind that the number of observations will decrease in varying degrees depending on how the data is filtered.
You should also note that the vast majority of visualizations available to you will have some form of
‘Tooltip’ that presents itself when a data point is highlighted (by placing the mouse on top of the point). These
‘Tooltips’ are simply a method to highlight the data drawn upon to create that particular portion of a visualization. They could include only the raw data, but they oftentimes include one way in which to articulate that data point. If for some reason you are having difficulty making sense of a data point, highlight it and see what the
‘Tooltip’ offers.
Downloading Visualizations
While you won’t be able to download the entire data package, you will be able to download PDFs of the visualizations. If there is a specific visualization that you would like to have available offline, clicked the
‘Download’ button in the top right of the screen. You can choose to download the
‘Dashboard’ you are on at that moment, or multiple dashboards, or all of them. However, the download will use any filters currently set to a given value. Be sure the filters are set to the values you wish to download prior to doing so.
Additional Resources
Tableau Support can be an excellent resource should you encounter any challenges in operating the platform. The APR research analyst, currently Dan Hay, can also be an aid in navigating the workbooks, answering questions regarding functionality, and interpreting the visualizations.
Should you experience issues with logging in or connectivity to the Tableau server, please contact the
DePaul Tableau Administrator .