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GESIS Training Courses
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Wiss. Koordination

Verena Kunz

Administrative Koordination

Claudia O'Donovan-Bellante

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Introduction to R

About
Location:
Online via Zoom
 
General Topics:
Data Analysis
Course Level:
Beginner
Format:
Workshop
Software used:
R
Duration:
4 days
Language:
English
Fees:
Students: 330 €
Academics: 495 €
Commercial: 990 €
 
Keywords
Additional links
Lecturer(s): Emilia Kmiotek-Meier, Anna Herdick (Teaching Assistant)

About the lecturer - Emilia Kmiotek-Meier

About the lecturer - Anna Herdick (Teaching Assistant)

Course description

Registration deadline: 23.12.2026  
Registration after this date might be possible, but is subject to sufficient demand and availability of places.
 
Please note that this workshop will be held on 11 - 12 January and 18 - 19 January! Please go to the schedule for more details.
The workshop will introduce you to the open-source software R, using RStudio as an interface. You will learn how to import data into R, how to prepare your data for analysis and visualisation with the package collection tidyverse, and how to visualize them with the package ggplot. In particular, we will look at types of objects in R, creating and modifying variables, basic types of data visualizations, uni- and bivariate analyses as well as multiple linear regression. We will also cover the basics regarding reproducible research in R. Note that the focus of the workshop is on getting familiar with R, not on the statistical concepts.
 
This workshop includes many hands-on exercises and its success depends on the active participation of the participants. There will also be opportunities to ask questions and discuss the code and concepts during the workshop.
 
The workshop will give you the opportunity to work on real data. The examples will be based on the European Social Survey (ESS, round 8). You are also welcome to bring your own data.
 
Organizational structure of the course
Each section will be introduced by the lecturer with explanations of the underlying structures in R. In each section, you will carry out exercises. There will be time for questions. The teaching assistant will support you during the interactive R coding sessions.


Target group

You will find the course useful if:
  • you want to learn R in a structured and interactive way
  • you want to conduct statistical analyses in R
  • you want to explore data through data visualisation


Learning objectives

By the end of the course, you will:
  • know different object types in R
  • be able to prepare data sets/variables in R
  • be able to perform basic data analysis in R
  • be able to produce basic data visualisation in R


Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of:
  • different types of variables (e.g. categorical, ordinal, continuous)
  • uni- and bivariate analyses (e.g. median, Pearson's r)
  • multiple linear regression
 
  • Skills in another statistical software might be helpful, but are not necessary.
 
Software requirements
It is helpful, although not necessary, to have two screens.
 
Step 1:
Please install the newest version of R and RStudio on your computer. The lecturer will distribute information on the installation process approx. one week before the workshop.
 
Installation of R: https://cran.r-project.org/
Version: base ("install R for the first time")
 
Installation of R-Studio: https://rstudio.com/products/rstudio/
Version: RStudio Desktop, Open-Source-Edition (free version)
 
Step 2:
Please download the ESS, round 8 (2016)
 
Download the European Social Survey data: ESS8 - integrated file, edition 2.3; format: sav (SPSS) and csv. You will need an account to download the data set (no fees). https://ess.sikt.no/en/?tab=overview


Schedule

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