Introduction to R: Publication Quality Graphics

Introduction to R: Publication Quality Graphics
Jason Rydberg, Assistant Professor
School of Criminology & Justice Studies

R is currently one of the fastest growing statistical software platforms for use by scientists, researchers, and statisticians. It provides a powerful, open source (i.e., free) environment for a wide array of tasks, including data manipulation, statistical modeling, and statistical graphics. Producing visualizations of data and relationships can be an effective means of communicating research findings to a variety of audiences. Yet the graphics produced by commonly used software platforms are often instantly recognizable, but for all the wrong reasons (I’m looking at you, SPSS). One of the particular strengths of R is its capability for producing highly customizable, publication quality graphics. This workshop will provide an introduction to creating and customizing graphics using two of R’s graphics systems – the base installation graphics, and “ggplot2” graphics.