ISSR Summer Methodology Workshops | Introduction to R: Data Management

In this two-day (6-hour) workshop, participants will be introduced to R as a data management tool. This course will teach the Tidyverse, a highly popular set of R packages designed to work together to provide a consistent set of tools for data management and data manipulation. No previous experience with R is required; this workshop is appropriate for both those being introduced to R and those already familiar, who want to be more efficient and effective when working with their data.

The goal of this workshop is to equip participants with the principles of data management and the R programming skills to do so in their research. Sample data and worksheets will be provided. We will mix theory and practice, alternating between learning best practices for working with data and programming in R on the provided datasets. By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to perform basic data management and data manipulation in R. If participants have specific questions about using R for their own research projects following the workshop, they are encouraged to make appointments for individual consultations.

 The following topics will be covered in the workshop:

• Introduction to R programming and its use as a data management tool
• Importing data from common formats, like CSV, Excel, and STATA files
• Tidying and reshaping data to be easier to work with
• Modifying existing data to add, remove, update, and clean data
• Merge and separate datasets

Instructor: Shuyin Liu

Shuyin Liu is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at UMass Amherst. Her research explores the intersections of gender, work, and family, with a focus on unpaid labor, household structure, and intergenerational ties. Much of her work is guided by the overall goal of understanding how gender culture shapes and is shaped by family dynamics. Another line of her work focuses on adolescent health, social networks, and measurement issues in data collection.

Questions? For more information about this or any of the ISSR Summer Methodology Workshops, please contact ISSR Director of Research Methods Programs, Jessica Pearlman ([email protected]). Please contact Jessica Pearlman if you have any trouble registering for multiple workshops.

Contact Jessica Pearlman if you have any trouble registering for multiple workshops.

Five College Students and Faculty

• Five College Undergraduate and Graduate Students and Postdocs:  $75/person
• Five College Faculty and Staff:  $135/person

Non-Five College Students and Faculty

• Non-Five College Undergraduate and Graduate Students and Postdocs:  $150/person
• Non-Five College Faculty, Staff and Other Professional:  $210/person

Registration note: The Five Colleges include: UMass Amherst, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College. Faculty, students and staff from University of Massachusetts Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell campuses and UMass Chan Medical School pay the five college rates. Registration closes for each workshop 2 full business days prior to the start date. If paying with departmental funds, contact Sue Falcetti ([email protected]).

Cancellation note: In cases where enrollment is 5 or less, we reserve the right to cancel the workshop.  In cases where the registrant cancels prior to the workshop, a full refund will be given with two weeks notice, and 50% refund will be given with one week notice.  We will not be able to refund in cases where registrant does not notify us of cancellation at least one week prior to the beginning date of the workshop.