[R-sig-teaching] R for introductory epidemiology for MPH students--base or with a package or two?

[Granaas, Michael]

Randall Pruim is spot on--there is no single right answer--except, maybe, RStudio, which I strongly recommend in addition to base R.

Adding packages isn't a big deal--as long as they are relevant for what your students are doing.   It is especially easy in RStudio to get packages added to your library.  But only add packages that are relevant to students' immediate needs.

I am going to be following the lead of others and add R Markdown this coming year. 

In the process of adding R to my own classes I've reviewed dozens of resources--books, online videos, Coursera, etc., and found that there is a wealth of good material out there.  I have found that I need to pick a small number of resources for my students to avoid overwhelming them.  

Currently I am taking advantage of datacamp.com's offer of free access for students enrolled in university courses.  My only complaint is that I don't get to keep my free access during the summer, so I have to review/evaluate their materials during the academic year to determine which courses/units I will be assigning.  That being such a minor complaint, I would encourage you to look at their offerings (many courses have the first lesson free to all) and see if anything looks promising to you.

My biggest challenge is to get students to actually learn what they are doing rather than copying and pasting code.   I think that problem deserves a separate thread.  

Michael

__________________________________________________________
Michael Granaas                                           mgranaas using usd.edu
Department of Psychology                           SL: VRprofessor Resident
University of South Dakota
414 E. Clark St                                             Phone: 605 677 5351
Vermillion, SD  57069                                 FAX: 605 677 3195
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________________________________________
From: R-sig-teaching <r-sig-teaching-bounces using r-project.org> on behalf of Randall Pruim <rpruim using calvin.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 2, 2018 3:38 PM
To: Christopher W. Ryan
Cc: R-sig-teaching
Subject: Re: [R-sig-teaching] R for introductory epidemiology for MPH students--base or with a package or two?

Christopher,

It sounds to me like you are the right track to answering your own question.  There are certainly packages that make some things much easier (like the tidyverse suite you mention), and in the end you will need to match what you choose to your audience and your goals.

So my take is this:

        * there is no one right answer,
        * there is no reason to avoid packages just for the sake of avoiding packages.

Of course, now comes the work: figuring out the right set of packages (and functions within them) for your situation.

Best of luck!

—rjp



> On Jul 2, 2018, at 4:30 PM, Christopher W. Ryan <cryan using binghamton.edu> wrote:
>
> I'll be teaching intro epidemiology in a new MPH program, starting this
> fall. Weekly sessions, each 3 hours long. Expecting 12-20 students. I
> plan to try to make it fairly interactive, with a "computer lab" as part
> of almost every class session. Using R. I'll do an initial "needs
> assessment" prior to or on first day of class; for now I assume none of
> the students are at all familiar with R. My first thought was to limit
> my efforts to base R, rather than try to use any installable packages.
> Any opinions about that? I specifically wonder whether Hadley Wickham's
> tidyverse way of doing things is become so commonplace (and rightly so!)
> that I should introduce this. It certainly makes data wrangling much
> easier, and that is a lot of what epidemiologists do, since we are so
> often given existing data that were not recorded with future analyses in
> mind.
>
> Thoughts on any of the above?  Thanks.
>
> --Chris Ryan, MD, MS
> Binghamton University,
> SUNY Upstate Medical University,
> and
> Broome County Health Department, NY, US
>
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