Advanced Data Visualization with ggplot2

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Objective: Explore more advanced data visualization techniques with ggplot2.

Lab Instructions:

Advanced Plots:

  • Using the penguins dataset, create a faceted plot showing the relationship between flipper length and body mass for different species.

  • Experiment with different themes and color palettes to enhance the visual appeal of your plots.

Lab Report:

  • Submit your R script and the plots.

  • Include a reflection on how the different visualizations helped to highlight different aspects of the data.


Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

Step 1: Understand the Objective

This lab is asking you to use advanced plotting features in ggplot2. Your goal is to create faceted plots of the penguins dataset and then write a reflection. You need both code (R script) and written explanation.


Step 2: Plan Your R Script

  1. Load the required packages and dataset

    library(ggplot2)
    library(palmerpenguins) # penguins dataset
  2. Create a base scatter plot

    • X-axis: Flipper Length (mm)

    • Y-axis: Body Mass (g)

    • Color: Differentiate by species

    ggplot(data = penguins, aes(x = flipper_length_mm, y = body_mass_g, color = species)) +
    geom_point() +
    facet_wrap(~ species) +
    labs(title = "Flipper Length vs Body Mass by Species",
    x = "Flipper Length (mm)",
    y = "Body Mass (g)")
  3. Experiment with themes

    + theme_minimal()
    + theme_classic()
    + theme_light()
  4. Try different color palettes

    + scale_color_brewer(palette = "Set2")
    + scale_color_viridis_d()

Step 3: Organize Your Lab Report

Your report should have three main parts:

  1. R Script Section

    • Paste your code neatly.

    • Comment your code (e.g., # Create faceted scatter plot).

  2. Plots Section

    • Include the generated plots (export as images or embed them if allowed).

    • Show at least two different versions with different themes or palettes.

  3. Reflection Section (1โ€“2 paragraphs)

    • Explain what insights you gained from faceting by species.

    • Discuss how themes/colors changed the clarity and readability.

    • Reflect on how visualization choices can emphasize patterns (e.g., species differences in body size).


Step 4: Writing the Reflection

  • Start with: โ€œFaceting the plots by species allowed me toโ€ฆโ€

  • Mention if certain themes made data easier to interpret.

  • Compare plain vs. styled plots.

  • End with: โ€œThis exercise showed me that design choices in visualization can significantly impact how results are communicated.โ€


Step 5: Final Check Before Submission

โœ”๏ธ R script runs without errors
โœ”๏ธ At least one faceted plot created
โœ”๏ธ Tried multiple themes/color palettes
โœ”๏ธ Reflection written clearly, about 1โ€“2 paragraphs


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