You may be wondering why we’ve dedicated a whole page to Tableau maps…
- We’re biased. We love maps and we’ve been working with them for a long time
- It’s the one part of Tableau that can be a bit tricky – especially with UK based data. So we’ve put together some cracking resources to help you out
One of the best things Tableau can do is integrated mapping but it’s also the area that needs the most support to get good results. For amazing maps you need great reference datasets to connect your data to – but this is a lot more complicated than you might think.
Because of the many, ever-changing ways the UK is administered and measured – finding the right reference data can be really difficult. Your data may be based on OS, DoH or ONS data, small or large units or even on units that no longer exist.
But here’s the good news – we’re a mapping specialist AND a Tableau Partner.
What you should know about mapping
LSOA’s and MSOA’s change frequently. Make sure that the vintage of your data matches the reference data or you will get gaps.
Scotland doesn’t have LSOA’s or MSOA’s, they have Data and Intermediate Zones. We have included these in these datasets.
This is a huge dataset. To avoid slowing your machine to a crawl load your own data first and then the Postcode Reference dataset.
CCG boundaries move frequently. Be careful before making a decision based on where the boundary is.
Some Counties have been replaced by unitary administrations (e.g. Hampshire) some have remained at counties (e.g. Warwickshire).
Regions are the next size up from Counties.
There are 11 regions in GB if you include Scotland and Wales.
There are no districts in Scotland and Wales they use Unitaries instead.
There are no wards in Cornwall. Instead there are Electoral Divisions. We include these in this data set.
There are differences between Ordnance Survey (OS) and Office of National Statistics (ONS) wards. The ward shapes and names are different.
The Free Datasets
This is a list of all of the datasets we’re giving you absolutely free. We’ve even made a couple of videos showing you how to install them in Tableau (see below). You’re welcome.
Please complete the following details to gain free access to all of the datasets below.
Dataset | Coverage |
---|---|
Data Zone | Scotland |
Intermediate Zone | Scotland |
LSOA | England |
LSOA | England and Wales |
LSOA | Wales |
MSOA | England |
MSOA | England and Wales |
MSOA | Wales |
Postcodes | England |
Postcodes | GB |
Postcodes | Scotland |
Postcodes | Wales |
CCGs | England |
Counties and Unitary Authorities | GB |
Counties | England |
Districts and Unitary Authorities | GB |
Office of National Statistics Wards | England |
Office of National Statistics Wards | GB |
Ordnance Survey Wards | England and Scotland |
Ordnance Survey Wards | GB |
Government Office Regions | GB |