Data Essentials with R

1 Purpose And Scope

Data Essentials with R is designed to support undergraduate and graduate students who may soon be working with data through coursework or research. The primary goal is to quickly develop an essential skill set for working with the types of datasets most often encountered in biology. Data Essentials With R assumes no prior knowledge of computer languages, statistics, calculus, or mathematics beyond introductory algebra.

Data Essentials with R is neither a statistics text nor an in-depth introduction to programming. Specifically, Data Essentials with R does not explore probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, or modeling. On the programming side, Data Essentials with R avoids loops, control structures, algorithms, writing functions, and defining object classes. Instead, Data Essentials with R embraces the tidyverse ecosystem of commands that are comparatively fast-to-learn and fast-to-write, and which cover the majority of data scenarios our students encounter most often.