Dashboards

Lecture 22

Dr. Benjamin Soltoff

Cornell University
INFO 3312/5312 - Spring 2026

April 17, 2026

Announcements

Announcements

  • Homework 06

The Big Mac Index

  • What is the topic of this dashboard?
  • How does the dashboard present information? What kinds of techniques does it use?

Source: The Economist

Learning objectives

  • Define dashboards for data communication
  • Identify scenarios when dashboards are appropriate
  • Distinguish between client-side and server-side interactivity
  • Create and revise Quarto dashboards

Communicating interactively with data

  1. Interactive charts
  2. Scrollytelling
  3. Dashboards
  4. Interactive web applications

Dashboards

What is a dashboard?

A dashboard is a visual display of data used to monitor conditions and/or facilitate understanding.

  • Collection of related data points
  • Information presented in a single view
  • Uses a range of methods for data communication (charts, tables, text, etc.)
  • Can be static or interactive

Source: The Big Book of Dashboards

Interactivity in dashboards

Client-side interactivity

Application code is executed in the browser

  • All elements/components must be defined in HTML/CSS/JavaScript
  • Interactivity is rendered within the browser
  • Limited computational power
  • Can be published as a static webpage
  • Examples
    • Plotly
    • Leaflet
    • Interactive {gt} tables
    • HTML widgets

Server-side interactivity

Application code is executed on the server

  • Content can be generated dynamically in response to user input
  • Allows execution of R code on the server
  • Requires a server to host the application
  • Examples
    • Input fields (toggle buttons, dropdown menus, search bars, etc.)
    • Regenerated charts/tables

Dashboards with Quarto

Dashboards with Quarto

  • Build dashboards using the Quarto framework
  • Flexible row and column-based layouts
  • Can include interactive/dynamic elements
  • Use parameterized reporting to create static dashboards for different datasets
  • Publish as a static web page or integrate with Shiny for server-side interactivity

Example dashboards

Why not use Tableau/PowerBi?

  • Closed-source proprietary software
  • Use point-and-click interface to construct dashboards (limited programming)
  • Limited customization and flexibility

Application exercise

ae-21

Instructions

  • Go to the course GitHub org and find your ae-21 (repo name will be suffixed with your GitHub name).
  • Clone the repo in Positron, run renv::restore() to install the required packages, open the Quarto document in the repo, and follow along and complete the exercises.
  • Render, commit, and push your edits by the AE deadline – end of the day

Wrap-up

Recap

  • Dashboards provide a compact, comprehensive communication of related data points
  • Avoid overwhelming readers with unnecessary or confusing information
  • Leverage interactivity to provide additional information on an as-needed basis
  • Use Quarto to create dashboards that can be published as static web pages