Introduction to R

“Introduction to R” provides a foundation for coding with the statistical programming language R. The course is designed for applied researchers with no previous programming skills. In this course, you will learn the basics of coding in R. In particular, you will learn how to read and manipulate datasets, deal with objects and vectors. Basic plots will also be produced using a brief summary of ggplot2. These skills are necessary for performing any subsequent statistical analyses in R. This course does not require any previous knowledge of statistics or programming.

Target Audience

People with no or limited knowledge in programming with R. (*) 

(*) Waiver Information for Helmholtz Munich Doctoral Students: If you already possess knowledge of the course content (e.g., you are skilled programmer with a lot of experience in programming), you may be eligible for a waiver. Please check our homepage for eligibility criteria. If you have questions or your situation is not covered, please contact us at cf-stats-teachingspam prevention@helmholtz-munich.de.

Topics

This introductory course in R covers basic data structures and routines:

• R Fundamentals: Core concepts like variables, data types, and operators
• Data Structures: Working with essential structures like vectors and data frame
• Data Management: Importing, filtering, and merging data frames
• Data Visualization with ggplot2: Creating essential plots like scatterplots and bar charts to explore data.

Application of statistical methods will be covered in the course Introduction to Statistics.

Methods

The course is highly interactive and follows a "learning-by-doing" approach. Each new programming concept is immediately applied in hands-on coding exercises, with best-practice solutions provided to guide your learning.

Learning Goals 

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Apply R's fundamental syntax, including variables, data types, and functions, to write simple scripts.
2. Import data from standard file formats into R and inspect the structure of a dataset.
3. Perform essential data manipulation tasks, such as filtering and subsetting data frames.
4. Construct basic data visualizations, such as scatterplots and bar charts, using ggplot2.
5. Confidently write and execute simple R scripts for data exploration.

Prerequisites

No prior knowledge needed.

Format

• Duration: 2 days
• Language: English
• This course will be offered either on campus (in person), or online.
• For online courses we use the software Zoom

Dates and Application

• Courses provided for Helmholtz Munich:
  • You can check the current dates and whether the courses are already fully booked here*.
  • Please read the corresponding FAQ* before applying via the forms of the HR Development department*.
• Courses provided for HIDA:
  • You can check the current dates and whether the courses are already fully booked here.
  • Registrations for these courses are exclusively possible via the provided homepage.

 * Links marked with * are only available for Helmholtz Munich staff.