Data Visualization with R (Coursera)

Offered by IBM,
Data Visualization with R (Coursera)

In this course, you will learn the Grammar of Graphics, a system for describing and building graphs, and how the ggplot2 data visualization package for R applies this concept to basic bar charts, histograms, pie charts, scatter plots, line plots, and box plots. You will also learn how to further customize your charts and plots using themes and other techniques. You will then learn how to use another data visualization package for R called Leaflet to create map plots, a unique way to plot data based on geolocation data. Finally, you will be introduced to creating interactive dashboards using the R Shiny package.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

You will learn how to create and customize Shiny apps, alter the appearance of the apps by adding HTML and image components, and deploy your interactive data apps on the web.
You will practice what you learn and build hands-on experience by completing labs in each module and a final project at the end of the course.
Watch the videos, work through the labs, and watch your data science skill grow. Good luck!
NOTE: This course requires knowledge of working with R and data. If you do not have these skills, it is highly recommended that you first take the Introduction to R Programming for Data Science as well as the Data Analysis with R courses from IBM prior to starting this course. Note: The pre-requisite for this course is basic R programming skills.
Completing this course will count towards your learning in any of the following programs:

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction to Data Visualization
Data without a way to convey the story behind it to yourself or others is just numbers on a page. You can observe and tell the story of your data in a more impactful way through visualization.
In this module, you will learn the basics of data visualization using R, including the fundamental components that are shared by all charts and plots, and how to bring those components to life using the ggplot2 package for R. You will also learn how to create three common chart types, including bar, histogram, and pie charts, from the qualitative and quantitative data.

WEEK 2
Basic Plots, Maps, and Customization
In this module, you will take your data visualization skills to the next level! You will learn how to create three plot types, including scatter plots, line, plots, and box plots, using the ggplot2 library and then customize the visualizations using annotations and customized axis titles and text labels. You will also learn about faceting, a way to visualize each level of a discrete or categorical variable, and different ways to work with themes. Finally, you will learn about a unique chart type called a map that you can create using geolocation data and the Leaflet library.

WEEK 3
Dashboards
Your data tells a story. You have built the charts and plots that show important relationships between variables, identify outliers and anomalies, and see the trends that can help you predict what the future might bring. Now you want to put these insightful data visualizations at the fingertips of your stakeholders and make it easy to interact with and explore the data. You need a dashboard!
In this module, you will learn why dashboards are important and then build interactive dashboards using the Shiny package for R. You will learn how Shiny dashboards are structured into user interface and server components and then build out these components and develop the logic to make them work together. You will also learn how to deploy your dashboards and provide a way to generate informative reports with R Markdown.

WEEK 4
Final Assignment

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Exploratory Data Analysis (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Exploratory Data Analysis (Coursera)

This course covers the essential exploratory techniques for summarizing data. These techniques are typically applied before formal modeling commences and can help inform the development of more complex statistical models. Exploratory techniques are also important for eliminating or sharpening potential hypotheses about the world that can be addressed by the data.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
The Data Scientist's Toolbox (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

The Data Scientist's Toolbox (Coursera)

In this course you will get an introduction to the main tools and ideas in the data scientist's toolbox. The course gives an overview of the data, questions, and tools that data analysts and data scientists work with. There are two components to this course. The first is a conceptual introduction to the ideas behind turning data into actionable knowledge. The second is a practical introduction to the tools that will be used in the program like version control, markdown, git, GitHub, R, and RStudio.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Fundamentals of GIS (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Davis

Fundamentals of GIS (Coursera)

Explore the world of spatial analysis and cartography with geographic information systems (GIS). What you will learn: define core geospatial concepts; practice with subset data using selections and feature attributes; create map books using advanced mapping techniques; create layer and map packages.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Probability and Data with R (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

Introduction to Probability and Data with R (Coursera)

This course introduces you to sampling and exploring data, as well as basic probability theory and Bayes' rule. You will examine various types of sampling methods, and discuss how such methods can impact the scope of inference. A variety of exploratory data analysis techniques will be covered, including numeric summary statistics and basic data visualization.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Communicating Data Science Results (Coursera) Coursera
University of Washington

Communicating Data Science Results (Coursera)

Making predictions is not enough! Effective data scientists know how to explain and interpret their results, and communicate findings accurately to stakeholders to inform business decisions. Visualization is the field of research in computer science that studies effective communication of quantitative results by linking perception, cognition, and algorithms to exploit the enormous bandwidth of the human visual cortex. In this course you will learn to recognize, design, and use effective visualizations.

Jun 22nd 2026
3 Weeks
Introduction to Machine Learning (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

Introduction to Machine Learning (Coursera)

This course will provide you a foundational understanding of machine learning models (logistic regression, multilayer perceptrons, convolutional neural networks, natural language processing, etc.) as well as demonstrate how these models can solve complex problems in a variety of industries, from medical diagnostics to image recognition to text prediction.

Jun 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Big Data, Genes, and Medicine (Coursera) Coursera
The State University of New York

Big Data, Genes, and Medicine (Coursera)

This course distills for you expert knowledge and skills mastered by professionals in Health Big Data Science and Bioinformatics. You will learn exciting facts about the human body biology and chemistry, genetics, and medicine that will be intertwined with the science of Big Data and skills to harness the avalanche of data openly available at your fingertips and which we are just starting to make sense of.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Linear Regression and Modeling (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

Linear Regression and Modeling (Coursera)

This course introduces simple and multiple linear regression models. These models allow you to assess the relationship between variables in a data set and a continuous response variable. Is there a relationship between the physical attractiveness of a professor and their student evaluation scores? Can we predict the test score for a child based on certain characteristics of his or her mother? In this course, you will learn the fundamental theory behind linear regression and, through data examples, learn to fit, examine, and utilize regression models to examine relationships between multiple variables, using the free statistical software R and RStudio.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks