PlotTwist: A web app for plotting and annotating continuous data

PLoS Biol. 2020 Jan 13;18(1):e3000581. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000581. eCollection 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Experimental data can broadly be divided in discrete or continuous data. Continuous data are obtained from measurements that are performed as a function of another quantitative variable, e.g., time, length, concentration, or wavelength. The results from these types of experiments are often used to generate plots that visualize the measured variable on a continuous, quantitative scale. To simplify state-of-the-art data visualization and annotation of data from such experiments, an open-source tool was created with R/shiny that does not require coding skills to operate it. The freely available web app accepts wide (spreadsheet) and tidy data and offers a range of options to normalize the data. The data from individual objects can be shown in 3 different ways: (1) lines with unique colors, (2) small multiples, and (3) heatmap-style display. Next to this, the mean can be displayed with a 95% confidence interval for the visual comparison of different conditions. Several color-blind-friendly palettes are available to label the data and/or statistics. The plots can be annotated with graphical features and/or text to indicate any perturbations that are relevant. All user-defined settings can be stored for reproducibility of the data visualization. The app is dubbed PlotTwist and runs locally or online: https://huygens.science.uva.nl/PlotTwist.

MeSH terms

  • Color
  • Computational Biology / methods*
  • Computer Graphics*
  • Data Aggregation*
  • Data Curation / methods*
  • Forms and Records Control
  • Humans
  • Internet
  • Longitudinal Studies*
  • Mobile Applications
  • Software*
  • Time Factors
  • User-Computer Interface

Grants and funding

The author received no specific funding for this work.