Render Sequence Plots using 'ggplot2'

A set of wrapper functions that mainly re-produces most of the sequence plots rendered with TraMineR::seqplot(). Whereas 'TraMineR' uses base R to produce the plots this library draws on 'ggplot2'. The plots are produced on the basis of a sequence object defined with TraMineR::seqdef(). The package automates the reshaping and plotting of sequence data. Resulting plots are of class 'ggplot', i.e. components can be added and tweaked using '+' and regular 'ggplot2' functions.

ggseqplot: ggplotify sequence data plots

The main goal of {ggseqplot} is to provide functions that reproduce the sequence plots from {TraMineR}’s seqplot using {ggplot2}. These plots are produced on the basis of state sequence objects defined with TraMineR::seqdef. The package automates the reshaping and plotting of sequence data. This library literally builds on the excellent work of the {TraMineR} and {ggplot2} developers and uses several of their functions to produce ggplot2-flavored figures.

Note, that this library was not written because I personally dislike the plots produced by {TraMineR}, but rather because I normally use {ggplot2} instead of base R’s plot environment for data visualization. {TraMineR} was developed before {ggplot2} became as popular as it is today, when most users were more familiar with base R plots. Today, however, many researchers and students prefer to use {ggplot2} and draw on their existing skills rather than learn base R graphics just to visualize sequence data.

{ggseqplot} contains the following functions:

• ggseqdplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqdplot)
• ggseqeplot (equivalent to TraMineRextras::seqplot.tentrop)
• ggseqmsplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqmsplot)
• ggseqmtplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqmtplot)
• ggseqtrplot (based on transitions rates from TraMineR::seqtrate)
• ggseqiplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqIplot)
• ggseqfplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqfplot)
• ggseqrplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqrplot)
• ggseqrfplot (equivalent to TraMineRextras::seqplot.rf)

A complementing vignette outlines how {ggseqplot} reshapes sequence data generated with {TraMineR} functions for visualization with {ggplot2}. It also shows how to customize the plots using familiar {ggplot2} functions and extensions.

If you find errors or have feature requests, feel free to create an issue on GitHub or send me an email.

Citation

If you use {ggseqplot} in your work, please cite it as:

Raab, M. (2022). ggseqplot: Render Sequence Plots using ‘ggplot2’. https://doi.org/10.32614/CRAN.package.ggseqplot

You can also retrieve the citation in R with:

citation("ggseqplot")

Installation

You can install the CRAN version of {ggseqplot} with:

install.packages("ggseqplot")

If a more recent version is available, you can install the development version from GitHub with:

devtools::install_github("maraab23/ggseqplot")

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Gilbert Ritschard, Tim Liao, and Emanuela Struffolino for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this library.