Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Conducting a 2-sample Z Test in Tableau

Yesterday, we posted a blog about finding the median of a set of Likert Values.  This got us thinking that maybe basic statistics are possible in Tableau.  As it turns out, they are.  Today, we will look at how to conduct a 2-sample Z Test in Tableau.  A 2-population Z Test determines whether two samples from normally distributed populations have the same mean.  As usual, we used the Superstore Sales sample data set in Tableau.

EDIT:  This instance is definitely a case of "foot-in-mouth" syndrome.  Later in this post, I use the incorrect formula to calculate the P-value.  However, the rest of the procedure is valid, just not the P-value.  Even so, this is still a good example of showing the many uses of table calculations.  Enjoy!

Step 1:
  • Determine what two sets of data you would like to compare
For our example, we chose profits for 2011 and 2012, rolled up to the customer level.  We can see these distributions below.
Histograms
For those of who know how to look at normal histograms, you can probably see that these are VERY similar.  Therefore, we should expect our test to return a high P-value (> .05).

Step 2: 
  • Aggregate your data and divide it into your two samples.
  • Create the following calculated fields.
2011 Profit
2012 Profit
Step 3:
  • Find the means and standard deviations of your two sets.
  • Create the following calculated fields.
2011 Profit Sample Mean
2012 Profit Sample Mean
2011 Profit Standard Deviation
2012 Profit Standard Deviation
There are two important things to note here.  First, these are all window functions along [Customer].  This is because we already aggregated the data up to the [Customer] level, and Tableau only gives us one option for a secondary aggregation.  Second, a discerning reader might say, "You're using sample standard deviations!  Shouldn't these be t tests?"  The answer is a resounding, "Yes!"  However, to our knowledge, Tableau does not have access to the Gamma function (Google it if you care what it is.).  This makes it impossible to calculate a P-value.  So, we're stuck with a z test, which is almost identical given our large sample size.

Step 4:
  • Calculate your pooled standard deviation
  • Create the following calculated fields
2011 Customers
2012 Customers
Pooled Profit Standard Deviation
The first two calculated fields are distinct counts of the number of customers.  We exploited the "Compute Along" feature to simplify the calculation to a simple sum of ones.

Step 5:
  • Calculate the Z Score
  • Create the following calculated field
Z Score
Step 6:
  • Calculate the P-value
  • Create the following calculated field
P-value
As you can see, this is a two-sided P-value, you can make it one sided if you so choose.  However, now we can look at the final result.

EDIT:  I had a big DUH! moment earlier today.  The formula I used to calculate the p-value is incorrect.  It should be an integral, which Tableau is incapable of calculating.  In spite of this, the Z-statistic is still valid, you just have to use some other means to calculate a rejection region and/or a P-value.  On the bright side, maybe some type of statistical package integration is in the works.  Cheers!

Final Table
The one caveat is that you have to put [Customer] somewhere in the canvas in order for this method to work.  We thought the level of detail would be the easiest.  As we suspected, the P-value is extremely high, meaning that we don't have enough evidence that say that these two samples come from populations with different means.

WHEW!  Wasn't that a lot of work?  We think so too.  It seems that we've shown that Tableau is capable of  basic statistical testing.  However, you are literally doing all of the work from scratch.  It would probably be much easier to combine Tableau's graphical capabilities with a more specialized tool, such as R or SAS.  On the bright side, there's an idea on the Tableau forums to put some sort of R integration in Tableau.  Here's to hoping!

In all seriousness though, if you need advanced statistical procedures, you're probably better off using a specialized tool and exporting the values manually.  I hope you found this informative.  Thanks for reading.

Brad Llewellyn
Associate Consultant
Mariner, LLC
llewellyn.wb@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradllewellyn
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8 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 20, 2013 at 8:39 AM

    Brad,

    I wish to know how to explain use of these statistical test to laymen ? Can you pls let me know bit more of below line ?

    As we suspected, the P-value is extremely high, meaning that we don't have enough evidence that say that these two samples come from populations with different means.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Breaking BIJune 20, 2013 at 9:32 AM

      Harihara,

      That description is as simple as I feel comfortable saying. Some people might say

      "Since the P-value is extremely high, the means are the same."

      These people would be wrong. Alas, I digress.

      The P-value is the first thing taught in an introductory statistics course, which is now mandatory in many universities. If your business users don't understand them, then it's probably best not to use the procedure at all. If they really want to know whether the distributions look the same, but don't understand P-values, just show them a histogram and let them decide that way.

      I apologize if this sounds "high and mighty", but I don't feel comfortable spreading misinformation.

      Thanks,

      Brad Llewellyn
      Associate Consultant
      Mariner, LLC
      brad.llewellyn@mariner-usa.com
      http://www.linkedin.com/in/bradllewellyn
      http://breaking-bi.blogspot.com

      Delete
  2. UnknownJune 21, 2013 at 2:25 AM

    Yes. Bit clear. Imagine i new to world of statistics and histograms.
    How well it brings decision making capabilities or should i use these kind of graphs for decision making.

    Why not comparative analysis or my basic bar and line or 23 types of tableau charts. I want to understand its core and basic use. Can you help ?

    I studied a lot of statistics, p value, normal distribution etc. where does it really used in real life and how it will be benefitted to clients. from your exp, i wish to know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Breaking BIJune 21, 2013 at 8:13 AM

      It's simply a method of "proving" a concept. Anyone can look at a graph and see something. The underlying question is always, "Is that really true?" Statistics gives you a quantifiable measure to determine whether or not you are seeing what you think you are seeing. Most business users won't have any use for statistics. You would have to find an audience that is ready for the next level of analytics, and these audiences are not very common.

      Delete
  3. SuryaJune 12, 2014 at 9:59 AM

    Brad, Thanks for the awesome blog. I was wondering if Tableau would allow us to do these tests at different levels with the same data set. Now, the data is at customer level and say, we add one more categorical variable like Location (North, South being two values).

    So, I need Z statistic for the following pairs:
    2011 Profit of North Vs 2012 Profit of North
    2011 Profit of South Vs 2012 Profit of South
    2011 Profit Vs 2012 Profit

    *I'll have a drop down to select North and South.

    Appreciate your help! Expecting a reply soon!

    Thanks,
    Surya

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Breaking BIJune 12, 2014 at 2:39 PM

      Surya,

      Take note of the beginning of the post where we create a calculation using

      SUM(
      IF YEAR( [Order Date] ) = 2012 THEN [Profit] END
      )

      You could replace that IF statement with anything you want. You could even create a parameter to allow the user to select the value via a dropdown! On a different note, Tableau 8.1 has an integration with R that will allow you to do this type of thing much easier.

      Thanks,

      Brad Llewellyn

      Delete
    2. SuryaJune 13, 2014 at 2:44 AM

      Brad,

      Thanks a ton for the response! And it worked perfectly. I need help on just one more doubt which arose on solving this problem.

      Now, as we are working in the client environment.and the client doesn't have Tableau 8.1 neither does he has R. We took help from the blog below to perform t-test
      http://community.tableausoftware.com/docs/DOC-1428

      As mentioned earlier, the initial problem was to provide t-test result (p-value) even when a user is making changes in filter selections. We have solved this issue now.
      The difficulty which we are facing (and I think we might face even after integrating Tableau with R) is using p-value to colour the bar chart. To understand the issue better please have a look at the tableau file which I have shared with you on your official email.

      The workbook attached has two sheets
      o T-test table
      o Desired chart
      - Using the aforementioned blog we are able to perform t-test (in t-test table). The p-value is getting changed if we change any/all of these filters (problem 1 solved)
      - But the client requirement is to colour the chart (aggregated at retailer name level) in ‘desired chart’ using p-value. Eg. - Significant (p<0.05) as green and non-significant as red
      - As p-value is a table calculation, we are struggling to change colour of bar graph.
      - Any guidance on this would be extremely helpful

      Thanks,
      Surya

      Delete
    3. Breaking BIJune 13, 2014 at 9:45 AM

      That's an interesting question. Unfortunately, I don't have access to that email address at the moment. Changing the color shouldn't be such a difficult task if you understand Compute Using. Perhaps this post will help

      http://breaking-bi.blogspot.com/2013/07/introduction-to-table-calculations.html

      Thanks,

      Brad Llewellyn

      Delete

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