Quick guide to the Motion Chart Gadget
Motion Chart is a free gadget in Google Spreadsheet (an online spreadsheet similar to excel). In motion chart you can convert your data-series into a Gapminder-like graph and put it on your web-page or blog. All you need is a free Google-account.
Here is a quick guide:
1. Go to docs.google.com and log in to your google account.
2. Decide what you want to show as bubbles (e.g. Countries) put those in column A
3. The second column is for time (e.g. Years)*
4. Following columns are for your data (e.g. Life expectancy, GDP, Population) The value in these columns can be numbers or texts. If you use only numbers, this column will appear on x- and y-axis as well as bubble-size and the meny for color. If you have a text-string it will only appear in the drop down menu for color.
5. Click Insert > Gadget (Choose Motion Chart)
6. Select the columns you want as range and click Apply.
The finished Gadget can then be added to any web-page or blog by clicking the little arrow on right corner (choose publish gadget). This would be the result (feel free to click around):
* The Time-value can be in different formats:
◦ Year – Example: 2008.
◦ Month, day and year – 08152008
◦ Week number – Example: ‘2008W03′.
◦ Quarter – Example: ‘2008Q3′.
I study children’s Growth and Development from 6.0-18.0yrs of age. I would like to compare these children with children from WHO, NCHS, UK, urban and rural African children from 1986 to date. I have data of longitudinal nature where children were measured for four years measuring, height, weight, sitting height, head circumference, relaxed upper arm circumference, biacromial(shoulder) diameter, biiliac(waist) diameter and skinfolds from biceps, triceps, supraiiliac and sub-scapular areas.
Selecting just height and weight, it would be interesting to see how the bubbles “move” over time. firstly bubbles from the same children’s data over four years( separating boys and girls) and then comparing these to “well off” and relatively “poor” countries.
Please advice
Can you show data from within regions.within countries?
I live in the South West of England and I think the stats I’m looking for will be comparable with other coutries and other areas of Britain.Thank You
Dear Sharon, it’s absolutely possible to show sub-national data in Googles Motion chart, as long as you have that data in the first place. We have included sub-national data from India, US and China in the graph we call Gaps Within: http://graphs.gapminder.org/world/four_big.php.
We do not however have data on regions or areas from within Great Britain at the moment, so that is something you have to add your self in a graph you make on Googles Motion chart.
/Staffan, Gapminder
[...] http://www.gapminder.org/upload-data/motion-chart/ – Gapminder/Google motion charts [...]
One measure of environmental impact would be population density and erosion rates. Population density for arable land and overall would be useful.
[...] una (potentissima) scatola vuota, che per quanto sia divisa in scomparti (Analytics, Feedburner, Motion Chart, Health, Flu Trends e Google stesso, con 23andMe a distanza di bacio) fa sempre parte dello stesso [...]
[...] Read more including comments… [...]
I would like to see data relating to breast feeding and breast cancers in the world, has anyone got the data?
ADMIN: Comment moved to “Breast Cancer Statistics”
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/breast-cancer-statistics/
[...] charts yourself. The easiest way to convert your data into a Gapminder-like bubble graph is to use Motion Chart from Google. Motion Chart is a free ‘gadget’ for Google [...]
It would be good if the second column was not restrained to time but made arbitrary. Say I have a spreadsheet where i want to visualize change in demand of some consumables as i linearly increase the availability of some item X.
Thank you for a very useful tool.
I would like to map the destinations of a network of Katrina evacuees over time (N=60). Does gapminder have the ability to graph on a map? If not, what might you suggest?
I am sorry but Gapminder’s tools do not generate maps and cannot be used in a good way to show information geographically.
I am afraid I cannot guide you to such a tool. Maybe someone else reading this post.
/Staffan, Gapminder
I wonder whether the data uploaded can be written in Chinese. besides,please tell me the format of month and year
[...] also provide an excellent tutorial explaining how to use the motion chart [...]
Hi!
I’m trying to use this excellent piece of software, and am doing so with a very simple google spreadsheet file. But, never the less I always end up with an error saying “First and second columns must be entity and time.” as I try to generate the gadget. I suggest this is a matter of formatting the cells, right?, but that didn’t help me much either… May I perhaps send you the file for some simple guidance?
Many thanks,
/Mikael Gustafsson, http://www.mdh.se
I have question hope answer me
1- I went to use sub menu for indicator like sector then indicator under this sector How do that ?
2- I went to use the scond level for geographica like
the country then Governs How do that ?
Thanks with my BestRegardes
Naglaa zain el_deen
Egypt
To althea on June 29th, 2009
Try Tableau Software available with free 30-day trial at
tableausoftware.com.
Excellent software and easy to use.
[...] Hover your mouse over each individual bubble to see the country that it belongs to (I used a google doc app to make the scatterplot). Which brings me to the topic of the first gathering in the Tech4Society [...]
I have 16 data points per country and 234 countries. However, google spreadsheets limits the amount of data I can have in a single column. Is there any way to increase the total number of rows of data? (I am pasting in the values from a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet)
Below is the error message I received:
Oops
We’re sorry, we were unable to process the operation because it contains too much data.
To the person asking about representing data with maps.
You might find the network-mapping software Princeton develops useful: http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/interactive_maps/index.html
Just google “non geographic maps” and it should come up in the top 1-2.
I would like to see this software able to generate cartograms (maps based on polygons, where the size of a region is distorted to represent a particular data set, rather than land area). Dynamic cartograms (with the size changing year to year for example) would be an excellent addition to this software.
I’d also like to be able to use it off line, although that may already be possible.
What I find really enlightening from Hans Roslings demonstrations (apart from the most impressive overall visualisation of course) are the vast difference WITHIN a country.
He clicks on a bubble (=country), the country splits up into different regions.
Does Google docs support this feature (yet?) If so, how to I activate it?
Any hints would be much appreciated.
[...] of use, flexibility, and sheer gimmickry, Motion Chart wins. After I had the data set and a helpful link from the folks at Gapminder I was up and running in about 20 [...]
To althea on June 29th, 2009
Althea you could look for GeoAccess software for mapping if the other recommendation doesn’t work for you. Good luck.
[...] I used the Google Motion gadget to create the chart below. Note: I had technical issues embedding the working chart, so I just inserted a screen shot instead. The chart actually moves, unfortunately my picture of it does not. [...]
I would like to include motion chart in PPT, how can I do this?
I am sorry but I don’t know if that is possible to do, check att google. On this link there is more information about teh Motion Chart API: http://code.google.com/apis/visualization/documentation/gallery/motionchart.html
Thats kind of advanced though. One easier way to add a moving graph into a PPT would be to make a screen capture software of some kind and record the motion you create with Motion Chart and then import that movie-file into Power Point.
However it seems much easier to just have two presentations open next to each other, one PPT and then in another window your Motion Chart or Gapminder-graph and then just switch between the two. Thats how I do it when I lecture.
/Staffan, Gapminder
We have used the Google motion chart for some time now on our website, but unfortunately it sometimes does not work. It seems to be a Google-problem.
At the moment, it does work with Mozilla, but not with IE. It is unfortunate, since the application is excellent, but (at the moment) really not stable enough to be taken seriously….
Kind regards,
Bart Loman, CIDIN
Dear Bart, as you maybe can see from the example on this page, we have encountered a similar problem. The embedded graph doesn’t load in several browsers at the moment. We are investigating it.
[...] is in on the fun too as they acquired Gapminder.org’s Trendalyzer in 2007 and turned it into a Motion Chart Gadget for Google [...]
Have you thought of adding emi- and immigrations to your gapminder world chart?
[...] Quick guide to the Motion Chart Gadget – Gapminder.org (tags: visualization google statistics data charts graph analysis) [...]
I wanted to know if i want to show the presentation in class using power point, can i add it to a slide or do i must be connected to internet to be able to show it?
Thanx
Hi, I have just starting using the motion charts via google spreadsheet. This works fine but I cannot seem to get the option where you can select countries. I have around 30 countries and would like the option to select or deselect countries to be shown in the chart. Is this possible?
[...] Do you want to do your own visualizations, take a look at: http://www.gapminder.org/upload-data/motion-chart/ [...]
I have been able to create the chart but don’t know how to download it to use offline. In my country, accessing internet is still a problem. Is there anyone know to to do it? Many thanks!
Hello
Can you please advise if there is a limit to the number of rows that can be visualised. I am testing a 20 row spreadsheet and only the first 18 rows of data are displayed in the motion chart.
Thanks
Ray
[...] ejemplos: – Gapminder World – Motion Chart Gadget [...]
Two questions:
1. How can I create subcategories of indicators? For example, choosing the “Population” category of indicators leads to another window with different indicators. The chart I am making has far too many indicators to be feasible without this feature.
2. Is there any way to use another time metric other than years/dates? My data is sports related, and instead of years, the data comes from each game played. I would like the motion to show game 1,2,3… rather than dates.
Thanks for all you guys do.
Hi, when I try to log on to docs.google.com I come to this Finnish language site..?? Something wrong with my computer or with google site?
Br
Johan
Hi,
I’m testing the Google motion chart as explained here,
and it works nice,
but what if i need to show a presentation on a computer without internet?
is there a way to create a local copy of the animation?
does someone here knows how?
thanks !
Ray
If there is a limit to the nubmer of rows it is not 18, I have just done a motion chart with 78 rows and all fo them showed up in the motion chart.
A couple of possibilities are: you may not have included the last 2 rows in your range for the gadget; or two of the rows have no data for the variable on your x-axis (in which case it doesn’t show)
I am with Philip, I’d like to e able to show aggregated data in one bubble rather than have only disaggregated data. Is there a way to do this yet?
[...] data made public) For a quick tutorial on how to make your own cool Gap Minder chart check out this link. *Note Gapminder is not owned by Google. Gapminder is a foundation of its own, totally [...]
I have three columns, third column is sum of first two columns. I would like to show third column as different bubble with two separate colors, each color shown as percentage of data taken from first and second column. Is it possible???
[...] If after checking out the video you want to make your own data look interesting, check out how you can make it happen with Google Docs. [...]
The information above mentioned that:
* The Time-value can be in different formats:
◦ Year – Example: 2008.
◦ Month, day and year – 08152008
◦ Week number – Example: ‘2008W03′.
◦ Quarter – Example: ‘2008Q3′.
I’m trying to use Motion Chart for a dataset that the Time-value is in “Month, day and year” (e.g. 08152008). Can you tell me how to enter date in this format in Google spreadsheet to make Motion Chart work. It didn’t work when I either enter 08152008 or =Date(2008,08,15). Please help. Thanks.