I Spot a Cool Plot: A Nearly Syntax-Free Introduction to Advanced Data Visualization in R for Survey Researchers and Social Scientists (Online)

This class is now full and we are no longer accepting spots on the waitlist.
 
This one day course will be offered via Zoom only. Attendance is required as it will not be recorded.

This workshop will introduce attendees to the advanced data visualization capabilities in R and to the concepts of the grammar of graphics. Specifically, we will demonstrate how to access ggplot2 using a graphical user interface library in R as well as through an R shiny app. These environments provide the user a “point and click” interface for accessing the power of ggplot2 and can generate R syntax automatically thereby providing users a boost up the learning curve for understanding the grammar of graphics used by ggplot2.

We begin the workshop with an overview of the grammar of graphics and explain how graphs are constructed in layers and aesthetics which will lay a foundation for how to approach creating advanced graphics and visualizations. We will then demonstrate how to create and export various kinds of visualizations including violin pots, line plots, boxplots, scatterplots, bubble plots, bar charts, histograms and more using these interfaces. The examples used throughout will leverage mixed data types (e.g. a combination of continuous and categorical variables) that are common in both survey research and social sciences.

While no prior R programming experience is assumed, a working understanding of the R environment (how to load packages, etc.) or Rstudio will be very helpful. Having the most recent version of R and /or Rstudio and an internet connection during the workshop would help users follow along in real time if desired.

This course will count as 3.0 CSS short course credit hours.

Instructor: Trent Buskirk

Dr. Trent D. Buskirk is the Novak Family Professor of Data Science and the Chair of the Applied Statistics and Operations Research Department at Bowling Green State University. Trent received his Ph.D. in Statistics from Arizona State University with emphasis in Survey Sampling. Since that time Dr. Buskirk has developed specific expertise in Mobile and Smartphone Survey Designs and Data and in the use of machine learning methods for developing sampling designs and adaptive survey protocols. Trent has held positions in academia and industry including Director of the Center for Survey Research at UMass Boston and as an Associate Professor of Biostatistics at Saint Louis University as well as the Research Director in Measurement Science for the Nielsen Company and Vice President or Methods and Statistics at the Marketing Systems group. Dr. Buskirk’s research has been published in leading survey, statistics and health related journals such as Field Methods, Journal of Royal Statistical Society, Social Science Computer Review, and Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. Trent is recently the Past President of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion and served as the 2018 Conference Chair for the American Association of Public Opinion Research and has recently been named a 2017 Fellow of the American Statistical Association. 

Currently, Trent’s research is focused on the infusion of machine learning and other data science methods within the social sciences and survey research with specific attention to various aspects of data quality within big data sources. Trent also has research interests in dual frame weighting for cell phone surveys, smartphone survey mode effects and in comparisons between quality of estimation using both Probability-based and non-probability based panels in the context of nonresponse bias adjustments, mode effect evaluation and coverage issues.

Dr. Buskirk’s research has been published in leading survey, statistics and health related journals such as Field Methods, Journal of Royal Statistical Society, Social Science Computer Review, Journal of Official Statistics, Preventative Medicine, Cancer, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Survey Methods: Insights from the Field and Methods, Data and Analysis, Public Opinion Quarterly and the Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology. Trent is recently the Past President of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion and served as the 2018 Conference Chair for the American Association of Public Opinion Research and has recently been named a 2017 Fellow of the American Statistical Association. When Trent is not working or thinking about surveys, sampling, or smartphones ad research, you can generally find him playing resident prince to his two princesses or playing an action packed game of Pickle ball!

Registration fees:

This is part of the RTI/Odum series of short courses. There are no registration fees associated with this course, but registration is required to secure your spot.

Additional course information:

• Registration opens 2/7/22. Registration closes at 12:01am 4/4/22. No late registrations will be accepted.
• Zoom link for this course will be sent prior to the course. Registration must be made at least 3 days prior to the course date to receive the Zoom link.

 
For questions regarding the status of this class, please contact Jill Stevens at jill_stevens@unc.edu