Introduction to programming in R

Open R Sessions 2025

Etka Yapar
Iain Moodie
Jamie Scotcher
Rae Engert
Ximena Alva Caballero

Introduction to the course

Introduction to the course

What is R?

  • is…
    • a “free software environment for statistical computing and graphics”
    • a programming language
    • widely used in biosciences, pharamacology, and generally statistics
    • cutting edge in many areas of data science / statistics
    • also used extensively in many advanced level courses (e.g. BIOS13/BIOS15) and some basic courses (e.g. BIOB11/BIOC13)

Introduction to the course

What is R?

Introduction to the course

What is R?

Introduction to the course

What can you expect from this course?

  • We will cover the fundamentals of programming in R
    • Concepts are mostly generic (can be applied to other high level programming languages)
  • A strong foundation, not domain specific knowledge
    • You can build on depending on your interests/needs/goals
  • A friendly, welcoming and collaborative environment

Introduction to the course

What this course is not

  • A statistics course
    • But this will prepare you for statistics courses
    • And we can often help you with implementation issues
  • A credited course
    • No additional stress of assignments or exams
    • Come when you can
    • Use the sessions how works best for you

Introduction to the course

The format

  • Thursdays 15:15 - 17:00
  • A series of topics, each building on the previous one
    • Short lecture (15-30 mins) and themed exercises (1hr 30 mins)
    • During the exercise sessions, you can also work on your own things / ask questions
  • All materials / lectures will be on Canvas
    • Follow in your own time, revisit topics, catch up on missed ones
    • Don’t worry if you can’t make it to all sessions!
  • Open R Sessions also runs “drop-in” only in the spring semester

Introduction to the course

The schedule of topics

Week Date Topic Lecture Exercises
37 11 Sept Introduction to R Röda rummet Heden & Ängen
38 18 Sept Data handling Röda rummet Heden & Ängen
39 25 Sept Data visualization Röda rummet Heden & Kärret
40 2 Oct Logic Hörsal (A213) Heden & Ängen
41 9 Oct For loops Röda rummet Heden & Ängen
42 16 Oct Functions Röda rummet Kärret & Ängen
43 23 Oct RMarkdown Röda rummet Heden & Ängen
47 20 Nov R Packages Röda rummet Raggmossan/Vitmossan & Ängen
48 27 Nov Tidyverse Röda rummet Kärret & Ängen

Exercises

Questions