Render Sequence Plots using 'ggplot2'

A set of wrapper functions that reproduces most of the sequence plots rendered with TraMineR::seqplot() and several related plots from 'TraMineR' and 'TraMineRextras' (Gabadinho et al. 2011, ). Whereas 'TraMineR' uses base 'R' graphics to produce the plots, this library draws on 'ggplot2'. The plots are produced on the basis of state sequence objects defined with TraMineR::seqdef() and, for some functions, event sequence objects or regression trees of sequences. 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 (and, for some functions, on the basis of event sequence objects or regression trees of sequences). The package automates the reshaping and plotting of sequence data. This library 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 transition rates from TraMineR::seqtrate)
• ggseqimplicplot (equivalent to the plot method of TraMineRextras::seqimplic)
• ggseqiplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqIplot)
• ggseqfplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqfplot)
• ggseqrplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqrplot)
• ggseqrfplot (equivalent to TraMineRextras::seqplot.rf)
• ggseqpcplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqpcplot)
• ggseqtreeplot (equivalent to TraMineR::seqtreedisplay, but without requiring an installation of GraphViz)

A complementary 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.

Use of generative AI

The functions ggseqimplicplot, ggseqpcplot, and ggseqtreeplot (added in version 1.0.0) were written with the assistance of the AI coding tool Claude Code (Anthropic). The generated code, documentation, and tests were reviewed, revised, and tested by the package maintainer.