Visualising research data on maps is challenging, especially if you have no GIS experience. Fortunately, when using R you don’t need GIS experience to make compelling maps that tell a story. This 2 hour practical workshop introduces the basics of thematic map design using the ‘ggplot2’ and ‘tmap’ packages in R. It is aimed at anyone who needs to make maps but wants to avoid tangling with GIS software and stick to R tools they already know. Attendees will learn about key concepts such as geospatial file formats, map projections, and how visualization principles from the Grammar of Graphics apply to mapping. They will be able to experiment with changing the look of simple thematic maps in ggplot2 and tmap. Some familiarity with R and the tidyverse is assumed.
