Skip to content

The University of Iowa Libraries

Skip to content
Go to
InfoHawk+
University of Iowa Libraries University of Iowa Libraries The University of Iowa The University of Iowa Libraries

Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio

Tag: r shiny

Jul 27 2018

Exploring spacewalk patterns: work done so far

Posted on July 27, 2018 by digitallibraryservices

As you might recall from my previous post, I have been working on a prototype tool to visualize spacewalk patterns that occur in short term Mars habitat simulations. 

My work so far

I used R packages shiny, visnetwork, and plotly to create an interactive web application for data exploration. Here is how it looks now: 

 The main drop down menu selects a crew to display. A network graph shows who worked with whom on extravehicular activities (EVAs). Each node is a crew member, and the size of a tie represents how many times these people worked together on an EVA. A bar chart in the bottom right corner shows the total number of EVAs that a crew member participated in.

A user can also select a single EVA to see which crew members worked together.


Future steps

This simple app functions well, but I want to tweak its appearance: put role abbreviations to the bottom left corner, make sure that the interface is displayed properly both on computers’ and phones’ screens, have a unified theme for different elements of the app. Also, I want to connect the network plot with the bar chart: when a user clicks on a node, a bar that corresponds to that node also gets selected.

I want to add more socio-demographic data, such as level of education, previous participation in such simulations, and experience in space industry. I want to enable user to visualize interaction networks by other demographics, not just by gender and role in a crew.

I also plan to add regression models that test whether women are less likely to be central figures than men, controlling for their role in a crew and other demographics.

Things I have learned

It has been a short journey in the Studio, but a fulfilling one. Summer funding allowed me to take a breath, work on my project, and think about my professional and academic future.

I have learned that I like building things and enjoy solving problems. I have used R Shiny for the very first time, and its familiar syntax was painless introduction to the world of interactive visuals.

I come from an interdisciplinary background (journalism-nationalism studies-sociology). As a journalist, I tell stories; and as a researcher, I want to do the same. A well done web application or a well done web page is a more efficient way to communicate one’s scholarship than an academic article. Yes, in academia it is still seen as a supplement rather than a substitute to a peer reviewed publication. And it’s a pity – it takes a lot of time, skills, and effort to create even the simplest visuals. On the other hand, it still is time well spent: by creating a visual story, one gets to know their data very intimately. And the world does not end with academia – it is helpful to leave the ivory tower and engage with the audiences outside of it. Who knows, maybe it will land me a job in this world of scarce tenure track positions.

Inga Popovaite, sociology PhD student

Posted in Digital Scholarship & Publishing, Studio FellowsTagged networks, r shiny, sociology, studio fellowship, visualization

Categories

  • Anniversaries
  • Campus history
  • Digital Scholarship & Publishing
  • DIY History
  • Events
  • Iowa Digital Library
  • Iowa Research Online
  • News
  • PDH Certificate
  • Publishing
  • Studio Fellows
  • Uncategorized

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

More links

  • Digital Research & Publishing Studio
  • Iowa Digital Library
  • Iowa Research Online
  • More Library Feeds
  • DSPS News via Email
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Zoia by Automattic.
University of Iowa Libraries University of Iowa Libraries The University of Iowa The University of Iowa Libraries
  • Contact the Libraries
  • Library locations & hours
  • News & Events
  • Help using the Libraries
  • Assistance for people with disabilities
  • Our diversity statement
  • Thank a Librarian
  • Web site/page feedback OR general suggestions
  • UI Libraries other links UI Libraries in the Internet Archive Use and reuse of UI Libraries web content - Creative Commons Staff SharePoint (authentication required)
  • UI Libraries on social media UI Libraries on Instagram UI Libraries on Facebook UI Libraries on Twitter UI Libraries on Pinterest UI Libraries on Tumblr UI Libraries on YouTube UI Libraries on Flickr UI Libraries blogs
  • 100 Main Library (LIB)
  • 125 West Washington St.
  • Iowa City, IA 52242-1420
  • 319-335-5299 (Service Desk)
  • ©2019 The University of Iowa
  • Give a gift to the Libraries!