Introduction to R

This repository houses the 5-session Introduction to R course run at the MRC LMS.

Outline

This course introduces R and RStudio and walks through the fundamentals of programming and data science:

• Sessions 1 and 2 cover the syntax and fundamentals of the R programming language and how to import, export, and manipulate data.

• Session 3 covers the world of R packages and walks through a practical analysis example to reinforce the first two sessions.

• Session 4 covers graphing using the ggplot2 library and discusses visual theory and how to effectively use colour.

• Session 5 finishes the course by introducing the concepts of 'tidy' data and the programs of the tidyverse.

Getting started

Download this GitHub repository and unzip the archive in a convenient location.

All course materials and homework assignments can be found within the content directory. Note that as well as the R markdown (*.Rmd) documents, which allow the learner to follow along, these same files are rendered as slides (within the slides directory) and as long-format HTML documents (html directory) for display in a web browser.

Prerequisites

Before you can follow along with this course, you will need to install:

• R

• RStudio

Users on Apple computers will then benefit from also installing the following:

• Xcode. Open a Terminal window (⌘+Space and type “Terminal”), copy in this command and press Enter ... sudo xcode-select --install. This will either:

  • prompt you for your password and then install the software. Note that, for security, typing at the password prompt won’t display anything, but type as normal and press Enter.

  • display install requested for command line developer tools. You can trigger the install immediately by going via System Settings > General > Software Update, where there should now be an option to install the Xcode tools.

• gfortran

• XQuartz