A
Beginner's Guide to Data Visualisation, Statistical Analysis and Programming using R
R is now the most widely used statistical software in academic science and it is rapidly expanding into other fields such as finance. R is almost limitlessly flexible and powerful, hence its appeal, but can be very difficult for the novice user. There are no easy pull-down menus, error messages are often cryptic and simple tasks like importing your data or exporting a graph can be difficult and frustrating. Introductory R is written for the novice user who knows a little about statistics but who hasn't yet got to grips with the ways of R. This new edition is completely revised and greatly expanded with new chapters on the basics of descriptive statistics and statistical testing, considerably more information on statistics and six new chapters on programming in R. Topics covered include
A walkthrough of the basics of R's command line interface
Data structures including vectors, matrices and data frames
R functions and how to use them
Expanding your analysis and plotting capacities with add-in R packages
A set of simple rules to follow to make sure you import your data properly
An introduction to the script editor and advice on workflow
A detailed introduction to drawing publication-standard graphs in R
How to understand the help files and how to deal with some of the most common errors that you might encounter.
Basic descriptive statistics
The theory behind statistical testing and how to interpret the output of statistical tests
Thorough coverage of the basics of data analysis in R with chapters on using chi-squared tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, regression, ANOVA and general linear models
What the assumptions behind the analyses mean and how to test them using diagnostic plots
Explanations of the summary tables produced for statistical analyses such as regression and ANOVA
Writing functions in R
Using table operations to manipulate matrices and data frames
Using conditional statements and loops in R programmes.
Writing longer R programmes.
The techniques of
statistical analysis in R are illustrated by a series of
chapters where experimental and survey data are
analysed. There is a strong emphasis on using real data
from real scientific research, with all the problems and
uncertainty that implies, rather than well-behaved
made-up data that give ideal and easy to analyse
results.
5 star review on
Amazon.co.uk:
"R is a world class tool for data analysis, but
is intimidating when you first try to get going. This
book guides you through that initial period with
aplomb, and a heathy sprinkling of humour too. How do
you even get your data into R ? This book gets you
there and sets you sailing.".
Where can I buy it?
Introductory R is available for direct
download to your ebook reader or tablet from Amazon, Kobo,
and in the iBookstore
for approximately £5, $8 or €6. You can buy a pdf or an epub file from Gumroad for a bit less (see the
whiney section on pricing below).
The epub can be read
on a computer or tablet using an epub reader app or on almost
all ebook readers. Please note that if you buy it directly from
Gumroad you'll need to be able to load it onto your ebook reader
yourself: if you don't think you can manage this then you'll
have to go with the pdf or pay a bit more and get it directly
onto your ebook reader.
Whiney section on pricing The pricing of these books is
largely determined by the pricing policies of the ebook sellers.
If you look at their literature you'll see that Amazon let you
sell ebooks and that they charge a 30% fee for this, but this is not actually a true
representation of the real charges they impose. Firstly, they
impose a "download charge", and secondly they charge a 65% fee in a number of
territories such as India, where I sell a lot of books. This 65%
fee can be avoided if you sign up to a deal whereby you agree
only to sell your ebook through Amazon... but I prefer not to do
that. Amazon and Google will also discount your ebook without even the
courtesy of an email to the author, and also require that the
book not be sold at a cheaper price at another ebook seller. From my point of view the best deal is
if you buy the pdf or the epub file direct through
Gumroad. The Gumroad files are also DRM free.
If you have any specific questions or comments please drop me a line
If you have general questions or ones that other people might be interested in as well then there is a
facebook page for the book - we can discuss things there if you like.
If you've read the book and found it helpful, a review in the usual places is always very much appreciated.