Table of Contents
This error typically occurs when a numeric vector is used instead of a data frame or another object that can be converted by the “fortify()” function. To fix this error, the numeric vector must be converted into a data frame or a compatible object before using it with the “fortify()” function. This can be done by using the “as.data.frame()” function or by creating a new data frame with the numeric vector as a column. Once the data is in the correct format, the “fortify()” function should be able to process it without any errors.
Fix Error: `data` must be a data frame, or other object coercible by `fortify()`, not a numeric vector
One error you may encounter in R is:
Error: `data` must be a data frame, or other object coercible by `fortify()`,
not a numeric vector
This error occurs when you attempt to use ggplot2 to plot variables in a data frame, but you reference a vector instead of a data frame for the data argument.
This tutorial shares exactly how to fix this error.
How to Reproduce the Error
Suppose we have the following data frame in R:
#create data frame
df <- data.frame(x=c(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8),
y=c(4, 8, 14, 19, 14, 13, 9, 9))
#view data frame
df
x y
1 1 4
2 2 8
3 3 14
4 4 19
5 5 14
6 6 13
7 7 9
8 8 9
Now suppose we attempt to create a scatter plot to visualize the x and y variables within the data frame:
library(ggplot2)#attempt to create scatter plot
ggplot(df$x, aes(x=x, y=y)) +
geom_point()
Error: `data` must be a data frame, or other object coercible by `fortify()`,
not a numeric vector
We receive an error because we referenced a numeric vector (df$x) within the data argument of the ggplot() function instead of a data frame.
How to Fix the Error
The way to fix this error is to reference a data frame for the data argument within the ggplot() function.
In our example, we should use df instead of df$x for the data argument:
library(ggplot2)#create scatter plot
ggplot(df, aes(x=x, y=y)) +
geom_point()
Notice that we’re able to create the scatter plot successfully without any error this time.
Additional Resources
How to Fix: ggplot2 doesn’t know how to deal with data of class uneval
Cite this article
stats writer (2024). How can I fix the error “data must be a data frame, or other object coercible by fortify(), not a numeric vector”?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-fix-the-error-data-must-be-a-data-frame-or-other-object-coercible-by-fortify-not-a-numeric-vector/
stats writer. "How can I fix the error “data must be a data frame, or other object coercible by fortify(), not a numeric vector”?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 27 Jun. 2024, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-fix-the-error-data-must-be-a-data-frame-or-other-object-coercible-by-fortify-not-a-numeric-vector/.
stats writer. "How can I fix the error “data must be a data frame, or other object coercible by fortify(), not a numeric vector”?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2024. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-fix-the-error-data-must-be-a-data-frame-or-other-object-coercible-by-fortify-not-a-numeric-vector/.
stats writer (2024) 'How can I fix the error “data must be a data frame, or other object coercible by fortify(), not a numeric vector”?', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-fix-the-error-data-must-be-a-data-frame-or-other-object-coercible-by-fortify-not-a-numeric-vector/.
[1] stats writer, "How can I fix the error “data must be a data frame, or other object coercible by fortify(), not a numeric vector”?," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, June, 2024.
stats writer. How can I fix the error “data must be a data frame, or other object coercible by fortify(), not a numeric vector”?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2024;vol(issue):pages.