Graphics are a fundamental part of data analysis, used in initial data inspection and exploration, model building and checking and also communicating information. In this course we will teach the basics of static graphics and data manipulation. The methods taught are readily available in open source software, enabling all participants to reproduce, extend and use them with their own data after the workshop.
The course will be divided into four sections:
Introduction to ggplot2 (print)
How to create scatterplots, and how to add extra variables with aesthetics (like colour, shape and size) or facetting. Data: fuel economy of US cars.
Graphics for large data (print)
Histograms and bar charts for displaying distributional summaries. Boxplots. Other techniques for overcoming overplotting when drawing scatterplots of large datasets. Data: prices and characteristics of 50,000 diamonds.
Group-wise summaries and transformations to add extra information to your plots. How to visualise time series. Data: trends in US baby names over the last 120 years.
Tweaking your plots for maximum presentation impact. Introduction to colour theory. Labels, legends and axes. Tweaking the plot themes.
Each section will be about 90 minutes long, and will be a mixture of lecture and hands on practice. Download all code and data used in class.
Anyone with an interest in data visualization.
Please bring your own laptop. Closer to the course we'll let you know what you need to install beforehand.
To get the most out of this course, you should have a basic familiarity with R, so that you can at least comfortably load your data into R and perform basic manipulations. You should also be able to write simple functions.
To meet this prerequisite, ISMI will offer "An Introduction to R" during the week preceding the short course. This introductory class will be offered free of charge to short course participants. Details will be sent following registration.
If you are already familiar with ggplot2, this course may be too basic, although you will receive expert hands on instruction that you wouldn't otherwise.