tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
DoseFinding vs spatsoc
A side-by-side editorial comparison of DoseFinding and spatsoc — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
DoseFinding vs spatsoc: at a glance
What is DoseFinding?
New stewardship at openpharma, then two releases adding the methods MCP-Mod was missing
DoseFinding implements MCP-Mod and related dose-response methodology for clinical trial design and analysis. In 2024 it changed hands — Marius Thomas took over as maintainer, Novartis was recorded as copyright holder and funder, and the package moved to the openpharma GitHub organisation with roxygen documentation and a proper NEWS file. The two releases since have added substantive methodology: model averaging for dose-response fitting in 1.3-1, and conditional and predictive power for interim analyses in 1.4-1.
What is spatsoc?
One maintainer, one or two new collective-motion metrics per release, for two years straight
spatsoc turns animal relocation data into spatial and social groupings — dyads, fission-fusion events, group centroids — and the recent history is a metronomic accretion of collective-motion measures on top of that base. Since late 2024 nearly every release has added one or two: polarization, direction to leader, position along the group axis, directional correlation delay, edge alignment, edge zones. Development is essentially single-handed; almost every merged PR in this window carries the same author.
DoseFinding vs spatsoc: editorial side-by-side
DoseFinding
0.0ANALYTICS
New stewardship at openpharma, then two releases adding the methods MCP-Mod was missing
◆ Current state
DoseFinding implements MCP-Mod and related dose-response methodology for clinical trial design and analysis. In 2024 it changed hands — Marius Thomas took over as maintainer, Novartis was recorded as copyright holder and funder, and the package moved to the openpharma GitHub organisation with roxygen documentation and a proper NEWS file. The two releases since have added substantive methodology: model averaging for dose-response fitting in 1.3-1, and conditional and predictive power for interim analyses in 1.4-1.
◆ Where it's heading
The pattern before the handover was maintenance — R-devel compliance, a bug fix, a link. After it, each release carries a named methodological addition with an acknowledged contributor, plus documentation to match: a longitudinal analysis vignette shipped alongside the interim power work. Housekeeping continues underneath, mostly clearing deprecated ggplot2 interfaces, aes_string in one release and qplot in the next.
◆ Prediction
Given the last two releases each added one method with a supporting vignette, expect the next to follow the same shape. Both additions so far extend the package beyond fixed dose-response fitting, so adaptive and interim methodology is the more likely direction.
spatsoc
0.0ANALYTICS
One maintainer, one or two new collective-motion metrics per release, for two years straight
◆ Current state
spatsoc turns animal relocation data into spatial and social groupings — dyads, fission-fusion events, group centroids — and the recent history is a metronomic accretion of collective-motion measures on top of that base. Since late 2024 nearly every release has added one or two: polarization, direction to leader, position along the group axis, directional correlation delay, edge alignment, edge zones. Development is essentially single-handed; almost every merged PR in this window carries the same author.
◆ Where it's heading
The December 2025 release changes register. Alongside three new calc_distance / calc_direction / calc_centroid functions and an internal assertion family, it deprecates the `projection` argument in favour of `crs` and lands a round of checks and tests explicitly staged ahead of a new spatial interface. Read together, that is a package finishing its metric catalogue and starting to rework the coordinate-handling layer underneath it to match modern R-spatial conventions — the same evolution that made it drop its startup warning back in 0.2.7.
◆ Prediction
The next release is likely the spatial-interface rework the 0.2.12 test and assertion work was staged for, with `projection` moving from deprecated to removed. Feature additions should slow while that lands.
Alternatives to DoseFinding and spatsoc
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either DoseFinding or spatsoc.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
hoardr
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
gigs
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
See all DoseFinding alternatives → · See all spatsoc alternatives →
Recent activity from DoseFinding and spatsoc
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8mo agospatsoccalc_* functions added; projection deprecated ahead of a spatial rework
- 10mo agospatsocEdge zones and edge direction added; centroid NA handling fixed
- 11mo agospatsocEdge alignment metric added
- 1y agospatsocLeader edge delay added; units dependency moves to a CRAN release
- 1y agoDoseFindingConditional and predictive power for interim analyses
- 1y agoDoseFindingModel averaging arrives for dose-response fitting ⚡
- 1y agospatsocDirectional correlation delay added; longlat direction bug fixed
- 1y agospatsocLeadership and group-axis position measures added
- 1y agoDoseFindingPackage moves to openpharma under new maintainership
- 2y agoDoseFindingCompliance update for R-devel
- 3y agoDoseFindingpowMCTBinCount bug fix
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between DoseFinding and spatsoc?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. DoseFinding and spatsoc are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is DoseFinding better than spatsoc?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. DoseFinding and spatsoc are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to DoseFinding?
Top DoseFinding alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "DoseFinding alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dosefinding for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to spatsoc?
Top spatsoc alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "spatsoc alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/spatsoc for the full list with editorial commentary on each.