What are Scatter Charts?
A Scatter Chart (also called a Scatter Plot Chart) is a type of visualization that displays the relationship between two variables using dots (data points).
Each dot on the chart represents a single item (for example, one university, one person, or one country).
The X-axis represents one variable (for example, Academic Reputation).
The Y-axis represents another variable (for example, Employer Reputation).
The position of each dot shows how those two variables relate — for instance, whether a higher score in one tends to correspond to a higher (or lower) score in the other.
In short:
Each dot = one data point
Position = performance across two indicators
Pattern = overall relationship or trend (e.g. “as X increases, Y also increases”)
How to Find and Open the Scatter Chart
The Scatter Chart is located within Analytics Reports.
Navigate across the top horizontal Reports bar to Analytics.
Click the Analytics drop-down — you will find four sub-reports.
Select the second one, Scatter.
After clicking on Scatter, the main content area will update to and display a Scatter Chart visualization.
Across the top of the chart, you will see new toggle buttons, including: Shortcut, X-Axis, Y-Axis, Null Start, and Color By.
What Am I Looking At?
By default, the initial Scatter Chart displays:
X-Axis: QS Academic Reputation indicator
Y-Axis: QS Employer Reputation indicator
The chart also initially loads data based on the Benchmark Peer Group you have applied.
Therefore, the number of dots displayed corresponds to your institution and all other institutions within that selected Peer Group.
Additionally, the chart reflects the chose Value (Rank, Percentile, or Score) that you previously selected.
How to Edit and Customize Your Scatter Chart
You can adjust the Scatter Chart visualization in several ways:
Benchmark Peer Group
Decide which peer group you want to analyze — for example, institutions in your country, region, a QS-provided list (such as the Ivy League or Russell Group), or your custom Master Peer List.Indicators
Use the Shortcut button (far left) to select from five pre-built Indicator comparisons.
Alternatively, manually choose your own Indicators using the X-Axis and Y-Axis toggles.
How to Use Zoom and Context
Context
When the Context button is toggled on, the chart includes many greyed-out dots representing a broader dataset.
This wider view can help you identify a broader picture.
However, toggling Context off isolates the results to display only your institution and your selected Benchmark Peer Group.Zoom
When Zoom is toggled off, the chart shows the full dataset (including context).
Toggle Zoom on to focus more closely on your institution and a smaller, more relevant subset of data of your selected Benchmark Peers.