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Here is a list of commonly used data visualization tools as well as information on how to access them. This list is not comprehensive. For the most up to date information, we recommend checking the website of Information Technology Services (ITS) or one of the following guides:
- how to access software through Northeastern
- what software is available in Northeastern computer labs and classrooms, such as physical computer labs
- what software is available on Northeastern configured machines, such as those for faculty/staff
If a tool you are interested in using can only be accessed using computers on campus but you are remote, you can look into the possibility of using a virtual desktop.
Pay-to-use tools you may have access to through Northeastern
These are tools that typically require a paid license to use and that you may have access to as a student, faculty, or staff member at Northeastern.
| Tool | Description | Access |
| Adobe Illustrator | A graphic editing tool that can be used to create more illustrative visualizations (such as infographics) as well as to edit graphics created in other programs. Illustrator can also be used for design projects such as creating and editing posters. |
Students can apply for a license and faculty and staff have access to Adobe Creative Cloud. For more information, see the ITS guide on accessing Adobe Creative Cloud. |
| Excel | A standard data analysis and visualization tool that is used extensively in fields such as business or finance. |
Students, faculty, and staff can access Excel for free as part of Microsoft Office 365 on both their personal computers and on-campus by using computers in ITS-managed computer labs. For personal computers, see ITS's guide to Microsoft 365 for Windows or ITS's guide to Microsoft 365 for Mac. For on-campus computers, see the locations this software is available at in ITS's guide to software available in computer labs. Please note, as of the time this guide was created, the Excel "Ideas" function is only available in the online version of Excel which can be accessed by logging in to Microsoft Office Online. |
| MATLAB | MATLAB is a tool for high powered calculations and data visualization. It is frequently used in engineering. |
Students, faculty, and staff can access Matlab for free on both their personal computers and on-campus by using computers in ITS-managed computer labs. For personal computers, see ITS's guide to MATLAB. For on-campus computers, see the locations this software is available at in ITS's guide to software available in computer labs. |
| NVivo | A tool designed to help researchers analyze qualitative (non-numerical) or unstructured data. | Students, faculty, and staff can access NVivo for free on both their personal computers and on-campus by using computers in ITS-managed computer labs. For personal computers, see the myNortheastern "Software Downloads" section of ITS's guide to installing software. For on-campus computers, see the locations this software is available at in ITS's guide to software available in computer labs. |
| PowerPoint / Word | While these are primarily presentation / word processing tools, both have the ability to create SmartArt diagrams that are useful for describing networks and processes. | Students, faculty, and staff can access PowerPoint and Word for free as part of Microsoft Office 365 on both their personal computers and on-campus by using computers in ITS-managed computer labs. For personal computers, see ITS's guide to Microsoft 365 for Windows or ITS's guide to Microsoft 365 for Mac. For on-campus computers, see the locations this software is available at in ITS's guide to software available in computer labs. |
| SAS | SAS is a popular statistical software for analyzing and visualizing data. | Students, faculty, and staff can access SAS for free on both their personal computers and on-campus by using computers in ITS-managed computer labs. For personal computers, see ITS's guide to SAS. For on-campus computers, see the locations this software is available at in ITS's guide to software available in computer labs. |
| SPSS | SPSS is a popular statistical software for analyzing and visualizing data. |
Students, faculty, and staff can access SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics and IBM SPSS Modeler) for free on both their personal computers and on-campus by using computers in ITS-managed computer labs. For personal computers, see ITS's guide to SPSS. For on-campus computers, see the locations this software is available at in ITS's guide to software available in computer labs. |
| Stata | Stata is a popular statistical software for analyzing and visualizing data. |
Students, faculty, and staff can access Stata (StataSE) on-campus by using computers in ITS-managed computer labs. For more information, see the locations that this software is available in ITS's guide to software available in computer labs. |
| Tableau | A point-and-click visualization tool that is commonly used to create dashboards for business intelligence. |
Tableau Desktop is a pay-to-use tool for which Northeastern does not have a university-wide license. However, students may be eligible for a free student license through Tableau and faculty/staff may be eligible for a free teaching license through Tableau. Tableau Public is a free-to-use tool that can be used as alternative to the pay-to-use desktop version. It can be accessed by creating an account on Tableau's website. |
Free-to-use tools
Point-and-click tools (non-coding)
There an incredible number of free data visualization tools available online and new tools are being created all the time. If you know the type of visualization you want to make, we suggest conducting a search yourself for the latest highly recommended tools. Otherwise, this is a list of some commonly used tools.
| Tool | Description | Access |
| Tableau Public | Tableau Public is a free-to-use tool that can be used as alternative to the pay-to-use desktop version. | Access at Tableau Public's website. |
| Gephi | Free to download software that is popular for creating static and interactive network diagrams. | Download from Gephi's website. |
| Data Wrapper | A tool built by journalists that allows you to upload CSV files and quickly create interactive visualizations in a classic newsroom style that can then be embedded on a website. | Access at Data Wrapper's website. |
| Voyant | An easy-to-use online text analysis tool. | Access at Voyant Tool's website. |
Programming Languages & Libraries (coding)
These are some of the most common programming languages and libraries used for creating data visualizations. While all of them require some amount of coding, it is worth noting that languages such as P5 and Processing were specifically designed to be accessible to beginners and that R comes with a development environment (interface) and many supporting tutorials.
| Tool | Description | Access |
| D3.js | A JavaScript library for creating interactive data visualizations. While it produces powerful visualizations, it can be intimidating to start from scratch so it is recommend that you start with example projects. | Download from D3's website. |
| P5 | A JavaScript library for "creative coding" that focuses on making coding accessible and inclusive for artists, designers, educators, and beginners. | Download from P5's website. |
| Processing | A Java library and development environment designed for the visual arts community that focuses on making programming accessible. | Download from Processing's website. |
| Python | A programming language that has many popular libraries such as Matplotlib, ggplot, and Plotly that can be used to create data visualizations. | Download from Python's website. |
| R / R Studio | A programming language and development environment frequently used for statistical computing and graphics. | Download from RStudio's website. |