Tableau is a data visualization app that is quickly becoming a standard data analysis tool across the industry. Questions regarding its uses and capabilities appear on the recently released Data+ exam from CompTIA, as well as on other similar certification exams.

How much do you know about data visualization and Tableau? What follows is a self-test of 25 questions based on the general concepts and topics related to Tableau and its options. The answers appear at the end of the questions. Good luck!

1. Which logic function in Tableau checks to see if a condition is met and returns one value if TRUE, another value if FALSE, and a third (optional) value or NULL if unknown?
A. IFNULL
B. IIF
C. IN
D. ISNULL

2. In the data pane of a Tableau workbook, one of your data sources is appearing with an orange check mark. What does this indicate?
A. The data source in question contains the most recent version of the data.
B. The data source in question is offline.
C. The data source in question is the secondary data source.
D. The data source in question is the primary data source.

3. Which option can be used with the installer to display dialog boxes and installation status, but not prompt the user for input?
A. /passive
B. /quiet
C. /noprompt
D. /silent

4. What happens after you click the drop-down arrow next to a column name and select Pivot?
A. The data no longer appears in horizontal format and now appears vertically in the column.
B. The column is appended with corresponding Pivot Field Values appearing to the right of the original data.
C. All columns change order via transposition and the values found in the Pivot Field Values column.
D. New columns called Pivot Field Names and Pivot Field Values are created and added to the data source replacing the original columns.

5. When creating a calculated field, what will the function DATEADD('day', 5, TODAY()) actually do?
A. Add five days from today’s date and return that value
B. Identify whether the day specified is within five days of today
C. Create a new column named TODAY and populate the first five entries
D. Append five more days to the current field

6. What type of data source is one in which hierarchies and aggregations have been created by the designer in advance?
A. Enterprise
B. Fabricated
C. Cube
D. Snap

7. Which menu option in Tableau can be used to see the various chart templates available for data visualizations?
A. Charts and Diagrams
B. Illustrate
C. Data Graphics
D. Show Me

8. You are looking at one of your data fields in the data pane of Tableau and notice that there is an equal sign appearing before the icon name (for example, “=ABC”). What can this indicate?
A. The field contains only numeric values
B. The field is a copy of another field
C. The field is a user-defined calculation
D. The field is dynamically updating

9. Tableau allows you to use functions such as iso-week and iso-weekday to pull date information in accordance with which ISO standard?
A. 9500
B. 1712
C. 8601
D. 802.3

10. In Tableau, which of the following contains a sequence of worksheets/dashboards that work together to show information?
A. Stage
B. Layer
C. Tier
D. Story

11. Which of the following types of data visualization is best for keeping data in a table-like format while graphically stressing high and low points?
A. Filled Maps
B. Highlight Tables
C. Heat Maps
D. Line Charts

12. Data that is both countable and distinct is which of the following?
A. Importunate
B. Persistent
C. Continuous
D. Discrete

13. Which type of visualization best aids in illustrating how positive and negative values contribute to a total?
A. Flow
B. Cascade
C. Waterfall
D. Aggregate

14. With cube data sources, fields must be defined explicitly as either [Fill in the blank] when creating the database?
A. dimensions or measures
B. relational or non-relational
C. hierarchical or object-oriented
D. fixed or floating

15. Which four basic SQL join types are supported by Tableau?
A. Unify, fuse, combine, and unique
B. Blend, conflate, meld, and unify
C. Merge, append, concatenate, and full
D. Inner, left, right, and full outer

Please visit GoCertify to attempt the remaining 10 questions of this quiz.

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ANSWERS

1. B: The IFF logic function in Tableau checks to see if a condition is met and returns one value if TRUE, another value if FALSE, and a third (optional) value or NULL if unknown.
2. C: The orange checkmark indicates the data source is the secondary data source (the primary data source will have a blue check mark).
3. A: The /passive option can be used with the installer to display dialog boxes and installation status, but not prompt the user for input.
4. D: New columns called Pivot Field Names and Pivot Field Values are created and added to the data source replacing the original columns.
5. A: When creating a calculated field, DATEADD('day', 5, TODAY()) will add five days to the current day and can be useful when estimating a shipping date, check clearing date, or anything similar.
6. C: A cube data source is one in which hierarchies and aggregations have been created by the designer in advance.
7. D: The Show Me menu option found in the top right corner in Tableau can be used to see the various chart templates available for data visualizations.
8. B&C: The equal sign (=) preceding the icon indicates that the field is a copy of another field or it is a user-defined calculation.
9. C: Tableau allows you to use functions such as iso-week and iso-weekday to pull date information in accordance with the ISO 8601 standard.
10. D: In Tableau, a story contains a sequence of worksheets/dashboards that work together to show information.
11. B: Highlight Tables are the best type of data visualization for keeping data in a table-like format while graphically stressing high and low points.
12. D: Data that is both countable and distinct is discrete. Tableau allows you to define whether data is discrete or continuous.
13. C: A Waterfall chart is a type of visualization that can aid in illustrating how positive and negative values contribute to a total.
14. A: With cube data sources, fields must be defined explicitly as either dimensions or measures when creating the database.
15. D: The four basic types of SQL joins supported by Tableau are inner, left, right, and full outer.