About this Class

This is the first class in the NIH Library Introduction to R Series. This class provides a basic overview of the functionality of R programming language and RStudio. R is a programming language and open source environment for statistical computing and graphics. The R class series is a comprehensive collection of training sessions offered by the NIH Library Data Services and Bioinformatics programs that is designed to teach non-programmers how to write modular code and to introduce best practices for using R for data analysis and data visualization. Each class uses both evidence-based best practices for programming and practical hands-on lessons. By the end of this class, students should be able to: list reasons for using R; describe the purpose of the RStudio Script, Console, Environment, and Plots panes; describe the various methods for finding help on R and RStudio; organize files and directories for a set of analyses as an R Project; define the following terms as they relate to R: object, assign, comment, call, function, and arguments; and assign values to objects in R. Students are encouraged to install R(link is external) and RStudio(link is external) before the class so that they can follow along with the instructor. Please bring your laptop with R and RStudio installed.