The Value and Variations of Jitter Plots

Through Workout Wednesday challenges, I’ve been exposed to variations of the jitter plot. However, before we begin, what is a jitter plot and what is its purpose?

A jitter plot is a type of data visualization that displays individual data points; they’re often used to show the distribution of a dataset, especially if the data points are clustered together. By jittering, or adding a small amount of random noise to the position of each point, you can prevent overlapping points and see the true distribution. This creates a scatterplot-like display of the data, with each data point represented by a dot or a symbol.

But then, how does a jitter plot differ from a scatter plot? A scatter plot illustrates the relationship between two variables. With one variable plotted on the x-axis and the other variable plotted on the y-axis, a scatter plot shows the true positions of the data points. On the other hand, a jitter plot slightly randomizes the positions to prevent overlapping. Although they look similar, they are structurally different and have different applications.

In the following dashboard, which visualization is a scatter plot and which is a jitter plot?

And how are jitter plots built? After adding a dimension and measure into the view, type in the random() function next to the dimension. This function returns a random number between 0 and 1. You can also create a calculated field called “Jitter” with the same random() function. This function will transform your visualization from a dot plot to a jitter plot.

After that long introduction, without further ado, I present two jitter plot variations.

JITTERED BOXPOT

The challenge for Workout Wednesday 2022 Week 12 features the jittered boxplot. A jittered boxplot is a dual axis chart - a jitter plot and a boxplot! While a boxplot represents the distributions of data, a jitter plot shows the individual data points using jittering.

Overall, a jittered boxplot combines the best features of boxplots and jitter plots to clearly display the distribution of data.

JITTERED BAR CHART

The challenge for Workout Wednesday 2023 Week 7 highlights the jittered bar chart. Like the jittered boxplot, the jittered bar chart combines the best features of two visualizations. A bar chart is a reliable data visualization to compare magnitude and by adding jitter to a bar chart, you can see more granularity in the data.

As you can see from the visualization above, the jittered bar chart presents both the shape of the data and all the data points. With the jitter, the bar chart feels a little elevated.

Since building these variations of jitter plots, I have grown an appreciation for jitter plots. I used the jittered boxplot recently in this Tableau dashboard:

I hope to use more jitter plots in my Tableau dashboards in the future, but are there any other variations of jitter plots that I missed? I would love to know!