Beginner R for Public Health Practitioners and Researchers in Liberia

• Using R as a calculator

• Recognizing the purposes of the R Studio panels

• Demonstrating use of simple functions with single and multiple arguments

• Creating vectors and data frames

• Assigning names to vectors and data frames

• Anticipating and assessing the dimensions of an object

• Identifying appropriate search terms to reach the appropriate documentation for solving a coding problem

• Determining the appropriate function to use to accomplish a pre-defined problem

• Downloading necessary packages

• Searching documentation in R Studio, search engines, and online discussion forums

• Comprehending error messages and planning appropriate action

• Anticipating and assessing the class of an object

• Redefining the class of an object to satisfy requirements of a function

• Using the is.XX and as.XX functions to coerce an object to a particular class and check the class

• Describing what variables may need cleaning and planning the functions needed for implementation in R

• Identifying the file path to set a working directory

• Reviewing the data read into R via read.csv function to ensure formatting meets expectations

• Reducing a data frame to a subset of variables

• Reducing a data frame to a subset of observations

• Using table to view responses captured in a character vector and identify anomalies

• Isolating the rows where anomalies or data inconsistencies occur

• Making space for new objects

• Using the which function to subset and redefine existing variables

• Creating embedded for and if loops to create loops based on conditional statements

• Linking two datasets based on a common variable using the cbind() and merge() functions

• Installing new packages

• Understanding the ‘building blocks’ needed to create a ggplot object

• Identifying reference materials with sample color schemes, geometries, and themes

• Recognizing graph types suitable for different variable types

• Critiquing figures based on information conveyed

• Understanding the ‘building blocks’ needed to create a ggplot object