Build a scatter plot

Scatter plots are typically used to demonstrate a correlation (or lack thereof) between two different variables. Create basic scatter plots to assess patterns, trends, and outliers in your dataset. You can also build advanced charts to include additional variables, plot trend lines, and display data points across quadrants.

This document details basic scatter plot requirements and introduces key properties and format options to help you enhance your workbook charts.

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Example use cases:

• Education analytics: Assess college grades and post-college income to determine a possible correlation between academic performance and job earnings.

• Environmental health analytics: Compare metro health index scores by neighborhood air pollution amount to analyze patterns and identify areas needing intervention.

• Retail analytics: Track price changes and sales amounts by profit to understand consumer response to price changes and identify where pricing did not affect profit.

User requirements

The ability to create scatter plots and other charts requires the following:

• To create a chart in a workbook, you must be assigned an account type with the Full explore or Create, edit, and publish workbooks permission enabled.
• To create a chart in a report, you must be assigned an account type with the Create, edit, and publish reports permission enabled.
• You must be the workbook or report owner or be granted Can explore or Can edit access to the document.

Basic scatter plot requirements

To display a scatter plot, configure the following in the Properties tab of the editor panel:

In a scatter plot, data points express the intersection of different variables on the X- and Y-axis, such as revenue and COGS, temperature and precipitation, or page views and clicks.

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At the core of every chart is an underlying data table (derived from the data source) that supplies the information visualized by the chart. As you build a scatter plot, Sigma automatically groups, aggregates, and calculates the underlying data to create source columns for various chart properties. You can view the underlying data table while configuring the chart to see how the data is applied.

Add a scatter plot chart

Add a scatter plot chart element to a workbook or report and specify a data source:

1. Open a document for editing or customizing.
2. From the Add element bar, select Charts, then select Scatter.
3. In the Select source modal, select a data source for the chart.

Define the x-axis variable

Configure a source column to define the x-axis variable.

1. In the X-axis property, click + Add column and select an option from the menu:

   • To plot values from an existing column, search or scroll the Select column list and select the desired column name.

   • To plot values based on a custom formula, select + Add new column and enter a formula in the toolbar.

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   You can also select or replace an existing column by dragging and dropping a column name from the Columns list to the X-axis property.

2. (Optional) Control how the source column data is grouped and displayed in the chart:

   1. Hover over the source column name, then click the down arrow () to open the column menu.

   2. Hover over any of the following items, then select the desired option:

      Truncate date	Categorize date values by the selected interval or unit of measure.
      Transform	Convert the column to the selected data value type.
      Format	Display axis and data labels in the selected format.

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   Column menu items vary depending on the data type of the column. For example, Truncate date is only available for date columns.

Define the y-axis variable

Configure a source column to define the y-axis variable. Sigma aggregates y-axis values that correlate with the same x-axis value.

1. In the Y-axis property, click + Add calculation and select an option from the menu:

   • To aggregate values of an existing column, search or scroll the Columns list and select the desired column name.
   • To calculate values based on a custom formula, select + Add new column and enter the formula in the toolbar.
   • To count the number of rows associated with each category, select Row count.

2. (Optional) Control how the source column data is calculated and displayed in the chart:

   1. Hover over the source column name, then click the down arrow () to open the column menu.

   2. Hover over any of the following items, then select the desired option:

      Set aggregate	Calculate values based on the selected aggregation method.
      Transform	Convert the column to the selected data value type.
      Format	Display axis and data labels in the selected format.

3. (Optional) Repeat the previous steps to add multiple y-axis source columns. Sigma plots each as a separate point series on the chart.

4. (Optional) Customize the chart title and source column names:

   • To rename a source column, double-click the column name in the X-axis or Y-axis property, then enter a new name. Changes are reflected in the default chart title.

   • To edit the chart title, double-click the title in the chart, then enter a new title.

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   Sigma generates a default chart title. If you customize the title, changes to the source columns or column names are not automatically reflected in the title.

Advanced scatter plot properties and formatting

To build advanced scatter plots and variations, including bubble charts and quadrant charts, you can use the formatting options available for scatter plots.

The following sections introduce configurations that can enhance your scatter plots and help you deliver specific insights with meaningful and actionable information.

Configure point colors

To configure point colors, select the Properties tab in the editor panel, then click Color. You can specify the color for all points in the chart, add color categories, or create a color scale.

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Multiple variables in the y-axis result in a multi-series scatter plot in which each data series represents a measure of a different variable. The By category color setting can also generate a multi-series scatter plot, but the resulting series represent sub-categories that measure the same variable.

Add conditional formatting

You can highlight certain points on a scatter plot by configuring formatting rules that apply different colors to points on the chart that meet specific conditions.

1. In the Properties tab of the editor panel, select Color.
2. Select Single color from the dropdown.
3. Click + Add rule to open the Format rule popover.
4. For Apply to, select the column you want the rule to evaluate.
5. For Formatting rule, configure the condition you want to evaluate.
6. Click Background color and select a color to apply to the scatter plot points when the configured conditions are met.

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When the conditions of multiple rules are met, Sigma applies the formatting rules in order of precedence, from top to bottom. Drag and drop rule blocks to reorder them as needed.

Configure point size

You can configure the size of scatter plot points proportionally based on a column in your data. If you configure a column as a size variable, each point is sized relative to the others in the chart. To set a fixed minimum point size, see Customize point style.

1. In the Properties tab of the editor panel, select Size.

2. Click + Add calculation.

3. From the Aggregate column popover, select one of the following options:

   • To aggregate values of an existing column, search or scroll the Columns list and select the desired column name.
   • To calculate point size based on a custom formula, select + Add new column and enter the formula in the toolbar.
   • To calculate point size based on the number of rows associated with each data point, select Row count.

Customize point style

You can customize point styles by selecting the Format tab in the editor panel and clicking Point style to expand the section. If the scatter plot contains multiple y-axis variables, you can modify the different data series individually or together.

By default, scatter plot points are circular. You can change the point shape to differentiate multiple data series:

If the chart doesn't include a size variable, you can customize the point size in pixels of all points in the chart. If the chart has a size variable configured, you can set the minimum point size:

Add reference marks

Add reference marks by selecting the Format tab in the editor panel and clicking Reference marks to expand the section. Use reference marks to define goals, baselines, or other benchmarks. You can also use reference marks to create quadrant charts.

All scatter plot format options

• Element style
• Title
• X-axis
• Y-axis
• Legend
• Trellis
• Data labels
• Reference marks
• Trend lines
• Point style
• Background image