Basics of R (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
Duration 3-4 hours
Team Researcher Academy







This face to face course is run by the Researcher Academy as part of the Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty Training Programme.

The Researcher Academy courses are very popular and the majority are run in both semesters to give you the opportunity to attend at a time of the year that suits you. 

Audience: Postgraduate research students and Research-only staff (ECRs) in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (M&HS) only. 

Course Description:

R is a free, popular language and environment that allows powerful and fast manipulation of data, offering many statistical and graphical options. This course is recommended for those who want to learn the basics of R programming. It aims to introduce R as a tool for statistics and graphics, with the main aim being to become comfortable with the R environment. It will focus on entering and manipulating data in R and producing graphs. Basic statistics will be briefly introduced, important and useful statistical functions will be covered in detail. Lecture will be interactive with a focus on learning by example. No prior programming experience is needed.

This course includes the following topics:

  1. Introduction to the R platform and interface
  2. Dealing with various data objects such as vector, matrix and data frame
  3. R Environment
  4. Statistics in R
  5. R Graphics

Learning outcomes:

  • Become familiar with R programming environment and basic functions of R
  • Know how to deal with different types of data
  • Know how to use R to do basic descriptive analysis and graphical presentations
  • Know how to perform basic statistical tests and interpret the results
Process: In classroom only. Lectures and Computer-based practical workshop.


Course Accessibility

The following table shows a summary of what is needed to participate in the course. 

If you feel you will experience any difficulties participating, please let us know via the ‘special requirements’ tab, providing as much information as possible. The special requirements tab can be completed when you book your place. Alternatively, you can contact us directly at ra-training@nottingham.ac.uk.

Print off pre-requisite paperwork/ resources & bring them to the course (optional)
Bring your own laptop/ PC to the course (optional)
Access seminar room on campus
Attend the course at the specified date and time
Watch and listen to the course tutor(s) and/or other attendees
Follow presentation slides during the course


Booking Conditions

Latecomer policy

Researchers should plan to arrive prior to the advertised course start time. Except for exceptional reasons, there will be no admittance to a Researcher Academy or Faculty Training Programme (FTP) course 15 minutes after the advertised course start time.

Importance of booking commitment

When booking on to a Researcher Academy short course you are entering into a commitment to attend. If you find that you are no longer available to attend you MUST cancel your place (on the system if more than three days before the course) or if at short notice by emailing ra-training@nottingham.ac.uk. This will ensure that your place can be offered to another researcher on the waiting list. Failure to cancel a place results in other researchers missing out on places through the waiting list process.

It is unacceptable for researchers to just not attend when booked onto a course. The Researcher Academy maintains records of those who repeatedly do not attend courses they have booked. This may affect future eligibility to book onto further Researcher Academy courses and will affect considerations for Researcher Academy funded opportunities.

Pre-Requisites Pre-requisites: Good working knowledge of basic statistics and computing is highly desirable, but no prior programming experience is needed.
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