What is the primary function of a box plot in Tableau?

A box plot is primarily designed to visualize the distribution of a dataset. It effectively summarizes a dataset by highlighting important statistical measures such as the median, quartiles, and any potential outliers. The box itself represents the interquartile range (IQR), which is the range between the first quartile (Q1) and the third quartile (Q3), indicating where the middle 50% of the data falls. The line within the box indicates the median of the dataset.

Additionally, the whiskers often extend from the box to the smallest and largest values within 1.5 times the IQR from the quartiles, and any data points outside of this range are identified as outliers, usually marked specifically for easy identification. This powerful visual tool allows analysts to quickly assess not only the central tendency of the data but also its variability and skewness, providing a comprehensive overview of the dataset's characteristics.