The capacity to create interactive data visualizations in R has been rapidly increasing. Using Shiny, R users can now create dynamic and interactive web-based graphics entirely in RStudio. For example, I am currently working on an interactive map that displays the location of every four-year not-for-profit college in America. Clicking on any college will display a pop-up with information about the college. The graphs on the right of the page will update as you zoom in and out to include only data on the colleges that are currently displayed on the map. Also, there is a second tab at the top of the page called “Data Explorer” that allows you to see the data that is creating the map.
The required dimensions of our blog make the embedded version below less than optimal, so I encourage you to access the original version of the map here!
To learn more about R, RStudio and Shiny, check out this tutorial and contact me at majerus@reed.edu.