Plot time series in R ggplot using multiple groups

Question

Here's a minimal working example:

nat <- structure(list(X = 1:336, value = c(56, 52, 48, 44, 43, 44, 37, 
36, 29, 27, 15, 22, 36, 22, 59, 53, 49, 45, 44, 44, 38, 37, 30, 
27, 16, 22, 35, 21, 61.1, 54.6, 49.9, 46.6, 45.6, 45, 39.7, 37.7, 
30.7, 28.6, 15.9, 22.7, 37.7, 22, 59.6, 52, 47.9, 44.8, 43.5, 
43.4, 38, 36.5, 29.5, 27.4, 15, 21.6, 36.7, 21.4, 59.4, 52.5, 
48.4, 45.1, 44, 44.2, 38.5, 37.3, 30, 27.9, 15.3, 22.1, 36.8, 
22.5, 59.7, 53, 48.2, 44.8, 43.5, 43.7, 38.5, 37.1, 29.6, 27.8, 
15.1, 21.6, 37, 22, 60, 52.1, 47, 44.4, 42.7, 43.1, 37.9, 36.3, 
29.1, 27.2, 14.5, 20.9, 35.7, 21.4, 62.4, 55.1, 49, 46.4, 45, 
45.2, 40.2, 38.4, 30.7, 28.6, 15.2, 21.9, 37.7, 22.6, 61.8, 55.6, 
49.5, 46.4, 45.7, 45.6, 39.6, 38, 30.8, 28.6, 15.2, 22.3, 37.7, 
22.6, 62.7, 56.2, 49.9, 46.6, 45.7, 45.6, 39.7, 38.3, 30.6, 28.4, 
15.4, 22.2, 37.9, 23.4, 68.1, 60.8, 54.7, 50.5, 50.1, 49.1, 44.1, 
43, 33.9, 31.4, 17.5, 25, 40.2, 26.1, 66.4, 59.7, 53.7, 49.5, 
48.8, 47.7, 43.2, 41.7, 32.7, 30.2, 16.7, 23.8, 38.8, 25.4, 63.1, 
58.2, 52.5, 48.5, 47.5, 46.6, 41.5, 40.7, 31.7, 29.4, 16.1, 23, 
37.6, 23.8, 67.5, 61.2, 55.5, 51.2, 50.1, 49.5, 44.5, 43.8, 34, 
31.7, 18, 24.9, 40.9, 26.6, 68.5, 61.3, 56.3, 51.3, 50.6, 50, 
44.6, 44, 34.4, 31.8, 18.1, 25, 41, 26.6, 70.3, 62.2, 56.9, 52.5, 
51.3, 50.8, 45.5, 44.6, 34.8, 32.2, 18.6, 24.9, 40.7, 26.7, 69, 
60.7, 55.8, 51.5, 50, 50.7, 44.6, 44, 34.4, 31.6, 18.1, 24.3, 
40.2, 25.9, 65.9, 59.4, 53.9, 49.6, 48.5, 49.4, 42.7, 42.3, 33.3, 
30.2, 17.2, 23, 38.2, 24.2, 68.4, 61.9, 56.7, 52.5, 51.7, 51.8, 
45.1, 44.8, 35.4, 32.1, 18.9, 24.7, 41, 26.5, 69.7, 62.6, 56.8, 
52.6, 51.4, 51.9, 45.7, 44.7, 35.8, 32.2, 19, 25.2, 41.2, 26.5, 
67.8, 61.3, 55.7, 51.5, 50.8, 50.2, 44.6, 43.9, 35, 31.6, 17.9, 
24.4, 41.4, 26.8, 70.9, 63.4, 57.2, 53.5, 52.1, 51.3, 45.9, 45.1, 
36.5, 32.9, 19, 25.6, 42.9, 27.2, 70.4, 62.4, 56.9, 52.6, 51.4, 
50.5, 45.1, 44.8, 36.1, 32.6, 18.7, 25.3, 42.6, 27.1, 70.1, 63.2, 
57, 52.6, 51.1, 49.7, 45.1, 44.3, 36.2, 32.4, 18.5, 25.1, 41.6, 
27.1), date = structure(c(1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 
1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 1L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L, 
2L, 2L, 2L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 
3L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 4L, 5L, 
5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 5L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 
6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 6L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 
7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 7L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 
8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 8L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 
9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 9L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 
10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 10L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 
11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 11L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 
12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 12L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 
13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 13L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 
14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 14L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 
15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 15L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 
16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 16L, 17L, 17L, 
17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 17L, 18L, 
18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 18L, 
19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 19L, 
19L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 20L, 
20L, 20L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 21L, 
21L, 21L, 21L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 
22L, 22L, 22L, 22L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 
23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 23L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 
24L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 24L, 24L), .Label = c("2019_11_06", "2019_11_07", 
"2019_11_08", "2019_11_09", "2019_11_10", "2019_11_11", "2019_11_12", 
"2019_11_13", "2019_11_14", "2019_11_15", "2019_11_16", "2019_11_17", 
"2019_11_18", "2019_11_19", "2019_11_20", "2019_11_21", "2019_11_22", 
"2019_11_23", "2019_11_24", "2019_11_25", "2019_11_26", "2019_11_27", 
"2019_11_28", "2019_11_29"), class = "factor"), group = structure(c(1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L, 1L, 
2L, 3L, 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, 10L, 11L, 12L, 13L, 14L), .Label = c("a", 
"b", "c", "d", "e", "f", "g", "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "n"
), class = "factor")), class = "data.frame", row.names = c(NA, 
-336L))

ggplot(data=nat) + 
  geom_line(aes(x=date, y = value,colour=group))

This is the output :

https://i.sstatic.net/OAIkW.png

I've looked at some of the recommended posts:

and can't find a solution from them.

I'm expecting to have multiple lines coloured by group.

For example (this is not representative of the style that I want, just a plot with a couple of lines coloured by group):

There's only one group a in your data, also there are multiple records per same date. What you could probably try is smooth - ggplot(nat) + geom_smooth(aes(date, value, colour = group, group = group)) — pogibas
– pogibas, Commented Dec 5, 2019 at 12:40
@PoGibas sorry, the data isn't properly representative then ( i chopped some ), I will update with a better data example. — baxx
– baxx, Commented Dec 5, 2019 at 12:51
there are multiple records for the same date because there are observations of different groups on the same date — baxx
– baxx, Commented Dec 5, 2019 at 12:58
@baxx there is only one group, a, and it has multiple rows for each date (14, look at table(nat$group, nat$date) with your posted data) , so I' sorry but I do not understand your comment. — s__
– s__, Commented Dec 5, 2019 at 13:01
thank you @s_t , i have updated the data again, there should be only one group for each date. — baxx
– baxx, Commented Dec 5, 2019 at 13:20

s__ · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-05 13:23:46Z

6

You can try something like this, I advice you to convert date as date, using for example lubridate::ymd():

library(tidyverse)
library(lubridate)
# your data
nat %>% 
# add date as date
  mutate(date = ymd(date)) %>%
# plot them
  ggplot( aes(x = date, y = value, color = group, group = group)) +
  geom_line() + geom_point() +   theme_test()

answered Dec 5, 2019 at 13:23

s__

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Comments

albgarre · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-05 13:30:28Z

I believe your biggest problem is that date is a factor and ggplot cannot really draw lines when the variable in the x-axis has this type.

If you convert it to date format (using the lubridate library), it works just fine:


library(tidyverse)
library(lubridate)
#> 
#> Attaching package: 'lubridate'
#> The following object is masked from 'package:base':
#> 
#>     date

glimpse(nat)
#> Observations: 336
#> Variables: 4
#> $ X     <int> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18...
#> $ value <dbl> 56, 52, 48, 44, 43, 44, 37, 36, 29, 27, 15, 22, 36, 22, 59, 5...
#> $ date  <fct> 2019_11_06, 2019_11_06, 2019_11_06, 2019_11_06, 2019_11_06, 2...
#> $ group <fct> a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, a, b, c, d, e, f, g...

nat %>%
    mutate(x = ymd(date)) %>%
    ggplot(aes(x = x, y = value, colour = group)) +
        geom_point() +
        geom_line()

^{Created on 2019-12-05 by the reprex package (v0.3.0)}

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