Sankey charts are a powerful tool for visualizing complex systems, whether they are biological, social, economic, or technological in nature. These charts use parallel bars to represent different elements in a system and their flows of data or concepts between them. They provide a quick and effective way to understand how different elements are interconnected and how their flows vary.
In this article, we will explore the fundamentals of Sankey charts, highlight their applications in different fields, and describe some ways to create these charts.
Basic principles
A Sankey chart is a graphical representation of a flow network. It consists of a number of parallel bars that represent different elements or nodes in a system. The lengths of the bars indicate the amount of data or flow between the elements, and the positions of the bars relative to each other indicate the dependencies or relationships between the elements.
The main components of a Sankey chart are as follows:
- Nodes: These are the elements or entities that the flow network represents.
- Edges: These are the lines that connect the nodes, and the amounts of data or flow associated with each edge.
- Labels: These are placed on each edge, indicating the direction of the flow, the units of the data being measured, and sometimes other details such as the source and target nodes.
Sankey charts offer several advantages over traditional network diagrams, which are often used to describe complex systems, such as:
- Sankey charts are easy to create and understand.
- They easily capture all the flows and dependencies within a system.
- They can be easily converted to other formats, such as a flow map or a data visualization tool.
Applying Sankey charts in different fields
Sankey charts are a useful tool in a variety of fields, including finance, social sciences, and technology. Here are a few examples:
- Finance: Sankey charts are used to visualize the different categories of income and expenses, or the different types of assets and liabilities. They can help analysts understand how the different elements within a financial system are interdependent.
- Social Sciences: Sankey charts are used to visualize the flow of ideas, power, and resources in a social system. This can be useful in understanding how networks of interactions are formed and maintained, and how they can be disrupted.
- Technology: Sankey charts can be used to visualize the flow of data between different technologies or systems, such as the flow of data between a database and the internet or between different application servers.
- Health: Sankey charts can help visualize the flow of patient-care processes, such as the flow of patients through a hospital system or the flow of medical data between doctors and patients.
Creating a Sankey chart
Creating a Sankey chart is a relatively simple process, and can be done using a variety of software and tools such as Microsoft Excel, Tableau, and R. Here are some steps to follow:
- Define the elements of the system.
- Choose the appropriate software or tool to create the chart.
- Set up the layout of the chart using the software or tool.
- Add labels to the edges of the chart, indicating the direction of the flow, the units of the data, and other details such as the source and target nodes.
- Use the software or tool to color code the bars to represent different types of data or flow.
Conclusion
Sankey charts are a powerful tool for visualizing complex systems, and can be used in a variety of fields. Whether you are working in finance, social sciences, technology, or health, sankey charts can help you understand the flow of data and concepts within a system.
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