Sankey charts were originally developed by British physicist and mathematician Francis Maitland Wright in the early 19th century to represent the circulation of energy in hydraulic systems. However, today, these charts have gained popularity in various fields ranging from engineering and architecture to social and economic analysis.
A sankey chart is a network graph where nodes and links have different shapes, colors, and sizes to represent quantities or measures. Instead of numerical values, nodes and links are assigned categories or labels, and the length and direction of the line segments is used to represent the quantity or value.
In this article, we will discuss the basic principles, examples, and applications of sankey charts. We will cover how to create sankey charts, their interpretation, and how they can be used to visualize complex data. By the end of this article, we hope you will have a comprehensive understanding of sankey charts and how they can be applied in your work.
Creating Sankey Charts
A sankey chart consists of nodes and links, with nodes representing categories or measures, and links representing different quantities or values. Here’s a simple example of a sankey chart:
Node Category Amount Link
1 Education £30,000 100
2 Health 20,000 200
3 Transportation 50,000 300
4 Safety 15,000 400
5 Education £50,000 500
In this example, there are five categories or measures: education, health, transportation, safety, and education. Each category is represented by a node, and links are drawn between categories as links represent value.
To create a sankey chart, you can use specialized software such as Tableau, OpenRefine, and R. In software such as Tableau, you simply select cells in your data table and drag them to nodes to represent the categories. OpenRefine, on the other hand, creates sankey charts as you add nodes and links to your dataset. R, on the other hand, allows you to visualize sankey charts using the ggraph package.
Interpreting Sankey Charts
Once you have created your sankey chart, you can interpret it to understand the relationships between categories and values. The length and direction of the links indicate the direction of the flow, quantity, or value. You can also use the colors and markings on the nodes to distinguish between categories.
For example, if you have created a sankey chart for a company’s production process, the length of the links can show the volume of materials used for each category. The direction of the links can indicate whether there is a positive flow or not, where high values represent high input to low output.
Sankey Charts in Practice
Sankey charts are widely used in various fields such as engineering, architecture, public policy, and social sciences. Here are some examples of how sankey charts are used:
- Engineering Projects
Sankey charts are commonly used in civil engineering projects to visualize the movements of materials, such as water or sand, at every stage in the project. For example, for a bridge construction project, the sankey chart visualizes how materials are transported between various stages, such as concrete batching, transportation, and use.
- Energy Transfers
Sankey charts are often used in the energy sector to trace the flow of energy in various systems. For example, to create a sankey chart to visualize the distribution of solar energy in different regions.
- Public Policy
Sankey charts can be used in public planning and decision-making processes to visualize the connections between various policy measures and social needs. For example, to track the impact of road infrastructure projects on local communities.
- Social Sciences
Sankey charts are also used in social sciences to visualize the distribution of resources and the impact of different policies on social outcomes. For example, to monitor the distribution of education and healthcare resources in underprivileged communities.
Conclusion
Sankey charts are a versatile tool that can be applied in various fields to visualize complex data and relationships between categories. They provide a visual and intuitive representation of quantifiable values, enabling users to easily understand the data and make informed decisions. By understanding how sankey charts work and their applications, you can use them to extract valuable insights from your data, making your work more efficient and effective.
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