BIOF 501 - Introduction to R: Step-by-Step Guide

Course Description

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R is a free, open-source programming language and software environment widely used for data analysis, statistical computing, and visualization, with a strong and growing presence in computational biology and bioinformatics. In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of R programming, including data types, functions, vectors, and basic vector algebra. The course will introduce script-based workflows and core programming concepts such as conditional statements (if–else), iterative constructs (for loops), and file input/output operations. Students will also gain introductory skills in data wrangling, exploratory data analysis, and data visualization using R’s rich ecosystem of packages. By the end of the course, students will have a solid foundation in using R to perform reproducible and effective data analyses.

Learner Outcomes

When you complete the course successfully, you will be able to:

Identify the purpose and functionality of all four panes in RStudio.
Apply foundational R programming concepts—including data types, vector operations, functions, conditional statements, and loops—to analyze datasets.
Create basic data visualizations to explore and communicate results.
Develop reproducible R scripts to clean, transform, and wrangle data using the tidyverse framework

Microcredential(s)

This course applies toward the Bioinformatics Endeavor digital badge.

What FAES Learners are Saying

“I learned the many ways useful plots can be generated using R packages.” - FAES Learner

"I really liked the videos that gave me step by step instructions on what the professor was doing. The textbook was easily accessible and aligned with the lecture videos and the professor always responded promptly to any emails." - FAES Learner

"Professor answered my email promptly which I really appreciated, and the course prioritized the basics that we need to know." - FAES Learner

Textbook Information

A textbook is available for this course.

Click here to view a textbook list for FAES courses and purchasing information. Please note that tuition does not include textbooks.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Refund
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