Course Catalog
Programming R for Analytics
94-842
Units: 6
Description
This class will provide an introduction to coding in R, a widely used statistical programming language. Students will learn to import, export, and manipulate datasets with different data types. Students will analyze the datasets using common statistical methods. For example, they will design, construct, and interpret statistical models and produce a variety of different customized graphical outputs. Throughout the course, students will create scripts and generate reproducible reports. There will be a focus on using these tools in public policy areas through examples and a class project.
The format for this course will be a combination of weekly lectures and interactive in-class activities that will allow students to practice the material taught. At the end of the course, you will be able to understand coding structures and create your own code. The project will allow you to identify and develop an analytical model that contributes to policy design, and communicate your result to a technical and non-technical audience.
A good knowledge of statistics is preferred, but this course is for anyone wanting to learn the basics of the R language and how to use the tools R offers to be able to do basic data analysis, statistical calculations, create graphical output, and generate reproducible reports using R Markdown.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Understand and reproduce coding structures.
- Use R with RStudio, find and understand R documentation, and write functional scripts.
- Produce statistical summaries of continuous and categorical data.
- Produce basic graphics and advanced graphics using different packages.
- Perform basic statistical and hypothesis tests.
- Develop classification and regression models and interpret the results.
- Create reproducible reports in R Markdown.
- Communicate your analysis and results in a creative way to a non-technical audience