This is Session One of our free on-demand online course based around the book An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R, and it assumes that you have a copy of this workbook in front of you so you can follow the instructions for each exercise provided in it. To find out where to purchase this book, click here. If you would prefer to complete a more detailed distance-learning or in-person version of the course that includes a certificate of attendance and completion and is led by one of the authors of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R, click here to find out when the next one is scheduled.
The information on this page will take you through the exercises in Chapter Three of the above book. These exercises cover importing biological data into R and preparing them for statistical analysis. You can find the introduction and the links to other sessions in this course here.
Preparing Biological Data for Statistical Analysis using R
Overview: In this session, you will learn how to import data sets into R in a variety of different ways, as well as how to error check it, divide it into subsets, join it with other data sets and calculate summary statistics from it. Duration: This session will take approximately two hours to complete.
Part One – Introductory Video
This video provides a summary of the introductory information for this chapter you will find on page 18 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 1 minute 28 seconds.
Part Two – Getting Started
This video outlines what you need to do to get ready to start the exercises in this chapter. The instructions for doing this can be found on pages 18 to 20 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. The link to download the compressed file containing the data for this course can be found here. Running Time: 59 seconds.
Part Three – Exercise 1.1: How to Import Data into R
This video introduces Exercise 1.1, including the different data formats that you will learn to import into R and how your data need to be structured in to ensure it can be imported correctly. This information can also be found on pages 20 and 21 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 3 minutes 10 seconds.
Once you have watched this video, you can work through the instructions for this exercise which you will find on pages 21 to 27 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. These will provide you with all the information you need to successfully complete it.
Part Four – Exercise 1.2: How to Check a Data Set for Errors in R
This video introduces Exercise 1.2, including why it is important to error-check your data, and what sort of errors may be present in a biological data set that you need to look for and correct before you analyse them. This information can also be found on pages 27 and 28 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 21 seconds.
Once you have watched this video, you can work through the instructions for this exercise which you will find on pages 28 to 33 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. These will provide you with all the information you need to successfully complete it.
Part Five – Exercise 1.3: How to Divide a Data Set into Subsets in R
This video introduces Exercise 1.3, where you will learn how to divide a data set into subsets using R. This information can also be found on page 33 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 15 seconds.
Once you have watched this video, you can work through the instructions for this exercise which you will find on pages 34 to 37 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. These will provide you with all the information you need to successfully complete it.
Part Six – Exercise 1.4: How to Join Data Sets Together in R
This video introduces Exercise 1.4, where you will learn how to join data sets in R. This information can also be found on page 38 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 1 minute 49 seconds.
Once you have watched this video, you can work through the instructions for this exercise which you will find on pages 38 to 42 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. These will provide you with all the information you need to successfully complete it.
Part Seven – Exercise 1.5: How to Calculate Summary Statistics from a Data Set in R
This video introduces Exercise 1.5, including the summary statistics you can calculate in R, how you can calculate them, and how your data need to be structured in order to be able to do this. This information can also be found on page 42 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. If you cannot see the video in the space below, click here to open a pop-out video viewer for it. Running Time: 2 minutes 4 seconds.
Once you have watched this video, you can work through the instructions for this exercise which you will find on pages 43 to 45 of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. These will provide you with all the information you need to successfully complete it.
End of Session One
Once you have worked through the five exercises in this session, you can click here to move on to Session Two (based on Chapter Four of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R) or you can click here return to the home page for this course.