The Programme doctorale en études numériques (PDEN) is renewing its introduction to R for PhD students in French-speaking Switzerland, to be held over four sessions in May and June 2022.
Initially designed for statistical analysis, R has become a reference tool in research, in the humanities and social sciences as well as in experimental sciences. Thanks to a system of modules adding additional functionalities, the use of R has notably extended to the humanities and digital studies: data processing and analysis, visualization, network analysis, automatic natural language processing, etc.
An Introduction to R: This course will cover several topics including the following:
– An introduction to the R programming language and the RStudio environment
– An introduction to the notebook system, which facilitates research data management, result-sharing and collaboration
– A series of topics for which R is particularly relevant: cartography, network analysis, stylometry.
The final program and topics will be decided collectively at the end of the first day. Possible program:
– Introduction to the R programming language, to the RStudio environment and to the use of notebooks
– Mapping: making a dynamic map with R, discovering the encoding formats specific to mapping
– Network analysis: creation of graphs with R, discovery of drawing algorithms and measures of centrality
– Stylometry: stylistic analysis of literary and historical texts with R, distance measurement, PCA
The objective is for participants to:
– Understand what R is and what possibilities it offers
– Be able to assess whether the use of R is relevant to their research
– Know where to get the resources and answers needed to work independently with R and RStudio
– Master a series of best practices for managing data.
Session dates: 31 May, 7 June, 14 June and 21 June. Please register by May 30.
