Shiny Apps with R

This course teaches you how to build interactive web applications directly from your R code using the Shiny package. You will learn to transform your data analyses and visualizations into dynamic, user-friendly dashboards and tools. The focus is on providing others with a way to explore your results interactively, allowing them to select inputs, filter data, and see updates in real-time, all without needing to write a single line of code.

Target Audience

Researchers who want to learn how to create interactive web applications and dashboards to better communicate their data and analytical results.

Topics

The course guides you through the process of building your first web application:

• The Structure of a Shiny App: Understanding the core components: the User Interface (UI) and the Server logic.
• Building an Interactive UI: Adding user input controls like sliders, dropdown menus, and text boxes.
• Creating Reactive Outputs: Writing the server-side R code that listens for user input and dynamically generates plots, tables, and text.
• Customizing the Layout: Arranging your inputs and outputs to create a clean, professional, and intuitive application.

Methods

The course is highly practical, combining short theoretical introductions with intensive, hands-on coding exercises. You will build a complete Shiny application from the ground up, with best-practice solutions provided to guide your learning.

Learning Goals

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

1. Explain the fundamental structure of a Shiny app, distinguishing between the UI and server components.
2. Build a user interface with a variety of interactive input controls.
3. Write reactive R code on the server side to generate dynamic outputs like plots and tables.
4. Customize the layout of an application for a clear and professional user experience.
5. Develop and deploy a simple, self-contained Shiny app to share your analysis.

Prerequisites

Programming skills in R (e.g., from the Introduction to R course). Basic knowledge of ggplot2 and RMarkdown is advantageous but not required.

Format

• Duration: 0.5 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

• Workshops 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 CaMS*.
• 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.