What you'll learn:
- Use ggplot2 starting from the grounds up. No more confusion with ggplot!
- Create publication-ready plots in seconds
- Learn how to import data into ggplot correctly
- Customize the appearance of your plot using the theme system
- Create your own custom plots: e.g. lollipop plots, dumbbell plots
- Learn the basics of R that you need to start plotting
- Learn how to do statistical transformations on your data before plotting
- Understand of the grammar of graphics, the theory behind ggplot2
- Learn why ggplot2 is the current best option for Data Visualization
- Learn the structure of a plot in ggplot and its components
- Learn how to use the different ggplot geometries
- Learn how to use the different position adjustments in ggplot
- Learn how to use scales properly: color, position, date and other
- Learn how to use scales in manual and identity mode
- Learn the different coordinate systems and how to apply them
- Learn how to draw small multiples in ggplot using the faceting system
- Learn how to draw basic plots, like scatter plots, line plots, or bar charts
- Learn how to display distributions: e.g. histograms, density plots, boxplots, violin plots
- Learn how to draw maps: from background maps to annotated choropleth maps
- Learn how to make highlighted faceted charts
- Learn how to make any plot look professional
- (Don't tell anyone, but you'll also learn how to draw pie charts)
In this course, I'm going to teach you how to use the ggplot2 package of R to draw amazing charts that are able to communicate what your data has to say in the most polished, professional way.
My name is Clara and I am aComplex Systems researcher and Data Visualization professor at the University.
Currently, ggplot2 is the best, most powerful tool for building professional graphics. First, because this is a package available in R, which is one of the most used programming languages for Data Science and related fields.So, it is very convenient to be able to produce graphics in the same environment where you already do all of your calculations. Second, because it is the most flexible tool to build graphs. So, even if you don't use R for your analyses, it is worth it to use ggplot2 to draw your plots, because there's no other tool that will give you the results that you can achieve using ggplot2.
Right now, the top agencies for Data Visualization are using ggplot2 to present their data. But still, ggplot2 is a tool that not everybody knows how to use, because of its long learning curve. Because of this, some people turn to other tools, like for example, Microsoft Excel, a tool that is not genuinely made for Data Visualization purposes. So, why don't you take the amazing opportunity of learning ggplot2 now and standing out from the crowd?
When I started learning ggplot2 some years ago, I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of functions and parameters, and also, Ihad never used R at the time. But I knew there wasn't any other comparable tool out there. So, I decided to learn it from the grounds, which took me a while! Of course you can watch some tutorials, and learn how to do certain kinds of plots, but I soon realized this wasn't enough to use ggplot in an independent, confindent manner. This course thatI'm offering to you today is the course that I wished had existed when I was learning ggplot2. It would have saved me hours and hours of reading books, manuals, the documentation, and endless trial and error.
In this course I've followed a methodology that has proven to work over the years with my students at the University, which is: to truly master ggplot2 you need to learn its core: the grammar of graphics. But, learning this alone might be a little tough, so I've created a series of lessons that first cover a certain part of the grammar, and then we move on to learning how to draw particular plots. Both of these types of lessons are fully hands-on, so you won't be bored one second! Using this method, I've had great success with students that had never used R before, R beginners, and advanced R users.
I really encourage you to make the decision of starting to learn ggplot2, it'll be a skill that you'll use for years to come and which will make a great difference in your career. I promise you won't regret it. Actually, this is what my students say:"This is the best course on R that I have done (M.G)", "This is a perfect course, might be the best I've seen in a long time (A.M)", "[I thought] that it was impossible for me to learn ggplot2 but this course showed me otherwise (M.N)". Take their advice and join us!
*This course covers the ggplot2 3.3 version(the latest release).
