Create and Manage Box and Whisker Charts in Visualizations

Permissions: Any Data Central user can create, save, and edit a visualization, but the user must have the Data Central Designer privilege to save a visualization as public or edit public visualizations.

A Box and Whisker chart, also known as a box plot, is a straightforward way to visualize the distribution of data by displaying the dataset's middle value (median), spread (quartiles), upper and lower extremes, and any outliers. The 'box' encompasses the middle half of the data; the line inside the box signifies the median, the red diamond indicates the mean, and the 'whiskers' extend to the smallest and largest values within a specific range, with outliers plotted separately. The chart also reveals whether data is concentrated more on one side (skewness) and how much the values vary (variability).

In order to see multiple box plots arranged side by side for direct comparisons across categories, a Dimension must be added, although it is optional. Without a dimension, the data will be displayed as an aggregate.

Create a Box & Whisker Chart

Start from the left navigation, locate the Visualizations section, and click the '+' New Visualization icon.
Click Box and Whisker to open the chart designer window.
In the Fields section, click the arrows, Data Store names, or Domain names to expand the data. Scroll down to view all available domains and fields.

In the example below, the Search feature was used to locate the VSBPS (Systolic Blood Pressure) field in the Clinical data store and the Vital Signs domain by typing part of the field name.

Tip: Search also supports dot notation, e.g. DataStore.Domain.Field.

Note: System Tables, which contain operational data, can be used in visualizations. Although users cannot view or query these tables directly, they can request box & whisker charts that utilize the data from them. Any box & whisker chart created from System Tables is visible and usable by all dashboard viewers once saved.

Tables available for request include: Issue, Query, Review Objectives, Review Objectives Domains and Fields, Review Objectives Review Materials, Review Objectives Reviewer Roles, Review Status Metrics by Domain and Role, Review Status Metrics by Domain and Role and Subject, and Subject.

Customize Measures

A Measure in a Box and Whisker chart is a numeric field that calculates the values for means, medians, quartiles, and outliers. Box and Whisker charts support dynamic measures, allowing users to select from multiple measures to display. In this example, systolic and diastolic blood pressure serve as measures that can be switched between.

Drag the VSBPS (Systolic Blood Pressure) field to the Measure (y) area, and the Preview will display all values for the measure. Only one measure can be viewed at a time.
To add additional measures to the chart that can be selected when viewing, click the 3-dots on the right of the selected measure to open the Dynamic Measures pop-up.
Click in the Additional Measures textbox and select a field from the drop-down list that contains all the fields in the selected measure's domain. The VSBPD (Diastolic Blood Pressure) field has been selected.

Note: Up to 10 Dynamic Measures can be selected within the same domain.
To remove a measure, click the 'X' to the right of the field name.
Labels are automatically generated for all dynamic measures. The label can be changed if there is only one measure or for the first measure by updating the Label textbox.
Click OK to close the pop-up and update the chart preview on the right accordingly. Notice that the label on the left side is bold and has an expand icon next to it. Click on the label to see a drop-down menu with the dynamic measures. Select the one you want to view.

Important: A warning message will appear when a user attempts to use more than 4096 records and only the first 4096 records will be displayed in the chart.

Add a Filter to a Measure

A filter can be applied to a measure using fields that belong to the same domain as the measure. Keep in mind that only one filter condition can be applied to the measure.

Click the Filter icon next to the measure to open the pop-up.
The default setting is Include Selections, which can be changed to Exclude Selections if preferred.
Click in the Filter Field textbox to open the drop-down menu and select the field to filter by. In this example, SITE (Site Name) was selected.
Open the Operator drop-down menu and choose from the available options: =, <, >, Null or Empty, or Between. In this example, '=' has been selected.
Select the values to filter to in the Filter Value drop-down menu. This example includes Mansfield Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Oncology Center of PA, Sacred Heart Medical Center, and St Mark's Hospital.

Note: After defining any filter for the chart, the filter icon will become shaded.

Tip: To collapse or expand each area (Measure (y), Dimensions (x), Filters), click the down / up arrows. Click the box icon to view only one area and collapse all other areas.

Dynamic Filters

Dynamic Filters allow users to select predefined values from a drop-down menu located at the top of the finalized chart. When viewing the chart, users can pick one or multiple values from the drop-down menu, which immediately updates the chart to display the selected filter values.

Turn on Dynamic Filters by clicking the toggle switch.
Click the Optional Default Filter Value(s) textbox to select the default values that the published chart filters to when opened. In this example, all five values are set as defaults, which means the chart will open filtered by all five selected values.

If no default value(s) are configured, the chart will filter by the first value in the list, opening with all records filtered by Mansfield Hospital.

Click OK.

Tip: Click in the whitespace to close the drop-down if the OK button is not visible.
When viewing the published chart, a drop-down menu with the filter values appears at the top. To apply the filter, click the drop-down arrow. Then, click the blue box labeled 5 selected to view the list of the five values available for filtering.
Select the values to filter, then click Apply, and the chart will immediately reflect the applied filter.

Note that now the blue box shows the number of values selected, which is 3 in this case.

Define Dimensions & Dimension Filters

A dimension is a field that segments or categorizes data, allowing separate box plots to be generated for each subgroup. Dimensions are typically categorical or discrete variables such as sex, age, or ethnicity. This allows for a visual comparison of the measure's distribution across different categories.

From the Fields section, search for the field SEX in Clinical > Demographics and drag it over to the Dimension (x) section. Notice that the values from the SEX field are reflected on the chart's x-axis. Only one dimension can be viewed at a time.
To filter out null values for this dimension, click the Filter icon to open the filter options. Select the Exclude Selections radio button. Then, choose SEX from the drop-down menu that appears when clicking the Filter Field.
After that, click on Operator and select Null or Empty from the drop-down menu.
Click OK.

Note that the Dynamic Filter option is not allowed for the Null or Empty operator.

The chart will now reflect the Null filter for the SEX dimension.

Note: Dynamic filters can also be applied to dimensions. Use the same steps as in the Dynamic Filters section.

Dynamic Dimensions

To add additional dimensions that can be selected dynamically, click on the 3-dots to the right of the field in the Dimension (x) section, and the Dynamic Dimensions pop-up will open.
Click on the Additional Dimensions textbox and select fields from the drop-down list which contains all the fields in the selected dimension's domain. The ETHNIC and AGE fields have been selected as dynamic dimensions.

Note: Up to 10 Dynamic Dimensions can be selected within the same domain.
Display As Pills is checked by default. This option determines how dynamic dimensions are displayed on the chart along the x-axis.
Labels are automatically generated for all dynamic dimensions. The label can be changed if there is only one dimension or for the first dimension, by updating the Label textbox.
To remove a dimension, click the 'X' to the right of the field name.
After configuring the dimensions, click OK.

The published Box and Whiskers chart will display the dynamic dimensions as either pills or a drop-down along the x-axis from which to select.

When Display as Pills is checked:

When Display as Pills is unchecked:

Chart Filter Section

The filters applied in this area affect the entire visualization and are not limited to a single domain like the filters for measures and dimensions. This flexibility makes filter creation more versatile.

From the Fields section, locate the field SUYN (Has tobacco ever been used?) in Clinical > Smoking History and drag it to the Filters section.

Keep the default Include Selections. Accept the '=' operator, then click on the Filter Value(s) and select the desired value(s) from the drop-down. Click OK, and the selected filter value will be reflected in the chart.
In this example, to use Dynamic Filters, turn the toggle switch on. Click on the Filter Values(s) and Select All. Click on the Optional Default Filter Value(s) and Select All. Click OK to proceed.
A drop-down menu will appear at the top of the published chart, allowing you to select the filter value(s). When hovering over any filter drop-down, a tooltip will appear displaying the selected value(s).

Up to 25 filters may be added to the chart.

Add a Chart Description

Enter a Chart Description in the text field above the preview in the chart designer. When the published visualization is viewed, this description will appear at the top of the chart.

Export / Import Chart Configuration

After creating or editing a chart, the chart configuration can be exported directly from the designer. This allows users to easily replicate their charts across different environments, eliminating the need to recreate them manually. To export, click the Export icon in the upper right corner of the chart's designer window and it will download the configuration file.

When importing a chart configuration, the created chart must match the exported chart type to ensure compatibility and consistency. To import a chart configuration, click the '+' New Visualization icon and select Box and Whisker. After the designer window opens, click the Import icon in the upper right corner. This will open a pop-up to upload the configuration file.

Note: Users with the Data Central Designer privilege can also export and import charts created by other users.

Toolbar Actions

Each chart includes a toolbar in the top right corner (in both the chart designer and the published chart), with icons that vary based on the chart type. Below are the icons available for a Box and Whisker chart.

ICON	ICON NAME	DESCRIPTION
	Edit	Click to open chart designer window.
	Add Filter	Click to open a pop-up window to enter filter parameters. Click OK. This filter applies to the panel only and does not appear in the Filter Panel in the left navigation.
	Show Table / Show Chart	Allows users to toggle between the chart and the underlying data in tabular format.
	Tooltips	Click to activate / deactivate the tooltips that display when hovering over a chart.
	Rotate Chart	Click to rotate the chart (switch the x-axis and y-axis).
	Crosshairs	Deactivated by default; click the icon to activate it. Crosshairs will display when the user hovers over the chart.
	Range Selector	Becomes available when there are over 50 x-axis values. When activated, it displays at the bottom of the chart.
	Zoom Out	Click to zoom out and view the entire chart (without the scrollbars on top). By default, a chart opens, displaying a readable amount of data, and the user can use the scrollbar at the top to move right and left.
	Drag to Zoom	Click to activate. Once it is activated, click and drag over the section of the chart you wish to zoom in on.
	Chart Notes	Click to see Chart Notes (added during advanced chart configuration).
	Exporting	Click to access a drop-down menu to print or export to PDF, PNG, or JPG.
	Advanced	Only in the chart designer; click to open the Advanced Chart Settings, which opens on the left side.
	Dock	Click to dock the visualization to your sheet.
	Maximize	Click to maximize visualization.
	Restore	Click to restore the visualization to previous size.
	Close	Click to close.

Note: When an icon is highlighted blue, it indicates that it is activated / on, whereas when icon is gray it is deactivated / off.

Advanced Chart Settings

The advanced settings enable a user to specify the box's settings as well as the whisker's settings, and more, tailoring the view for the chart's purpose.

To open the Advanced Chart Settings window:
- Click the Advanced button at the bottom right of the chart designer.
- Click on the Advanced icon to the far right in the chart designer toolbar.
Box Settings: Use 'quartiles' or 'mean +/- one standard deviation' to show how the data clusters around the center and how far it spreads.
- Q1 | Median | Q3
- Mean +/- SD1
Whisker Settings: Control the distance the whiskers extend beyond the box and define the range of values regarded as typical versus those considered outliers. Adjusting these settings enables various methods to identify and display data points that fall outside a selected threshold.
- Box Setting - Q1 | Median | Q3
  - Q1 - 1.5IQR to Q3 + 1.5IQR
  - Q1 - 3.0IQR to Q3 + 3.0IQR
  - 10th Percentile to 90th Percentile
  - Minimum to Maximum
- Box Setting - Mean +/- SD1
  - Mean+/- 2.0*SD
  - Mean+/- 2.5*SD
  - Mean+/- 3.0*SD
  - Mean+/- 3.5*SD
  - Minimum to Maximum
Dimension Axis Position:
- Bottom
- Top
Dimension Axis Label Display:
- Standard
- Stagger
- Rotate
Dimension Axis Label Visibility:
- Show
- Hide
Zoom Type:
- Box
- X-Axis
- Y-Axis
  - This setting impacts how the user interacts when using Drag to Zoom.
  - Charts created before version 24.1.0 will keep their X-Axis zoom configuration until changed.
  - Starting with the 24.1.0 release, charts will have the default setting of Box zoom.
Palate:
- Many different color schemes to choose from (Material is default).
Horizontal Reference Line:
- Upper Limit
- Lower Limit
  - Click the '+' sign to add additional reference lines.
  - Click the 'X' to remove lines.
  - To reset, click the back arrow.
  - Click on the 3-dots, and a configuration pop-up will provide options to enter a label, choose the line color, adjust the line width, select the line style, and highlight outlying data.
Horizontal Highlight Strip:
- Start Value
- End Value
  - You can add additional strips by clicking the '+' icon.
  - Remove them by clicking the 'X' on the right.
  - To reset, click the back arrow.
  - Click the 3-dots on the right to open a configuration pop-up for the highlight color, font color, and label.
Chart Notes:
- Add text to describe the chart. Once a note has been added, the icon in the toolbar will be displayed.
To close the Advanced Chart Settings window:
- Click the 'X' in the top right corner.
- Click the Advanced button on the bottom right of the page.
- Click the Advanced icon in the toolbar.
Click Save to save your changes, or click Cancel, and any changes are canceled.

Save / Save As

When first creating a visualization, only the Save button displays in the bottom right corner. Once a visualization is saved, both the Save and Save As buttons will display.

Upon opening a previously saved visualization in the chart designer, the title is displayed on the toolbar, followed by the word Preview.

The Save Chart window will open when you click Save for the first time or Save As.

Tip: Clicking Save As on an existing visualization allows you to duplicate the chart with another name or save the visualization as a new one with different settings from the original visualization, whereas clicking Save updates the existing visualization.

When the Save Chart window opens, you can enter or edit Save options.

Enter the Name of the Chart (maximum 100 characters allowed).
Select the folder where the chart will be saved.
Note: If you have the Data Central Designer privilege, you may also add a new folder by hovering over a current folder and clicking the add folder icon. Remember, managing folders after they are created (editing and deleting) is done through the Manage icon in the top right on the master header of the Data Central Landing page.
Select the Public or Private radio button. Only selectable with Data Central Designer privileges.
Select the Roles (visible when saving public only, grayed out if the visualization is private). Users with the selected role(s) will see and have access to the visualization.
Update the Scope: By default, the study you are currently in is selected. Click the drop-down next to Therapeutic Areas, Compounds, Programs, or Studies, and update as needed.
Click Save to confirm save settings or Cancel to cancel changes.

Edit a Box and Whisker Chart

Visualizations can be edited for their content, which includes the data they represent, the description, and advanced settings. Visualization settings (found in the Save window) can also be updated and saved under a new name, to a different folder location, changed from private to public (Data Central Designer privileges required), assigned different roles (if public), and adjusted with a new scope.

Edit Content

Hover over the visualization name you wish to edit.
Click on the Edit icon (the pencil).

Note: You many also click the pencil (edit) icon in the published chart's toolbar to open the designer.
The Box and Whisker Designer window opens.
Edits can be performed on all fields in the Measures (y), Dimension (x), or Filters sections in the same way as when creating the chart.
Edit the Description.
Access Advanced Settings and make any changes.
Click Save to save edits to the chart you are viewing OR click Save As to save as a new chart.

Edit Visualization Settings

Hover over the visualization name you wish to update.
Click the Configure (gear) icon to open the Save Chart window.
Make updates in the Save window.
Click Save to confirm changes or Cancel to cancel.

Delete a Visualization

Saved Visualizations, Workspaces, Filter Sets, and Advanced Filters are deleted from the Manage icon in the master header. Users must have the Data Central Designer privilege to delete items saved as public; however, all Data Central users can delete items they have saved as private.

Click the Manage icon located on the right in the master header. The Manage window opens.
Hover over the name of the item you want to delete.

Tip: Hover over the icon at the left of the item name to see a tooltip that identifies the type of item, for example, Saved Workspace, Advanced Filter, or type of Visualization.
Click the Delete icon.
In the Delete Item confirmation window, click Delete (or click Cancel to cancel your action).