[R] Stats help for dissertation project

[Raija Hallam]

Hello,

I am a conservation Masters student who is new to R and in need of some
confirmation of my methods/ stats help!

My dissertation project is looking at the micronutrient intake (iron, zinc,
calcium, magnesium and folic acid/folate) of 18 female monkeys, 14 of which
are reproductively 'successful' (their infant survived past 1 year) and 4
of which are reproductively 'unsuccessful' (their infant did not survive to
1 year). The females go through a number of stages throughout their
pregnancy, and I would like to focus on 2 of these stages, early gestation
and early lactation, as these appear in the literature to be important
stages in terms of nutrition. Each stage is broken down into 4 week periods
so I have G1, G2 and G3 as early gestation and L1, L2, L3 and L4 as early
lactation. These could also be combined into just 2 reproductive stages;
early gestation (EG) and early lactation (EL), to make the model a bit
simpler.


*I first would like to investigate how micronutrient intake is affected by
the reproductive stage of females.*

To investigate this I am thinking of doing a multivariate multiple
regression general linear model, controlling for Female ID:
ironintake ~ repphase + (1/FemaleID)
zincintake ~ repphase + (1/FemaleID)
etc.


*I would also like to investigate how the micronutrients they intake affect
reproductive 'successfulness'.*

To investigate this I am thinking of doing a binomial logistic regression
generalised linear model, again controlling for Female ID:
Repsuccess ~ ironintake + zincintake + calciumintake etc... +(1/FemaleID)


As I'm new to R and a bit rusty with my stats knowledge I would be very
grateful for any comments on my current stats tests and methods outlined
above. If there are other tests that would fit my data better then I'm all
ears!

Thank you!

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