R Boot Camp for Ecologists & Wildlife Biologists

Learn the basics of R from an experienced research ecologist, resource manager, and wildlife professor who will help you organize and display your data for reports, publications, and future analysis. Learn from the ground up, beginning with loading and organizing ecological datasets in RStudio to building beautiful plots for publication. Unlike many R courses, most examples used during the course are tailored to the needs of students, researchers, and professionals in ecology and wildlife-related disciplines. After completing this course, consider enrolling in Introduction to Ecological Statistics & Modeling to build on your foundation in R by learning the essential quantitative skills needed to be successful in research at school and work.

This is a 1-credit equivalent academic course (16 contact hrs + additional work) where you learn at your own pace over 3 months. This is NOT a “Watch me use R” course where your instructor presents a series of tutorials.

Learn at your your own pace with or without instructor support (see Online Course Format Chart below for details).

Winter: December 2, 2024 - February 23, 2025 (registration still open)

Spring: March 3 - May 25, 2025 (Early bird ends Feb 2nd)

Summer: June 2 - August 24, 2025 (Early bird ends May 4th)

*Early bird saves $75

• No prior experience in R is necessary.

• This course is a prerequisite for Introduction to Ecological Statistics & Modeling and other courses in our Applied Quantitative Ecology program.

Module 1: Introduction

• Explain the difference between R and RStudio

• Install R and RStudio on your computer

Module 2: R Basics

• Operate RStudio to perform basic math operations

• Assign values to create objects

• Create vectors to perform math and stats operations

• Understand how to use different functions to perform summary stats

Module 3: Packages and Data Frames

• Load and use R packages

• Read in data and create data frames

• Subset data to explore a dataset

Module 4: Importing Data

• Import data from files

• Know when to view and use tibbles and full datasets in RStudio

Module 5: Tidying Data

• Identify variables, observations, and values in dataset

• Demonstrate proficiency in pivoting, separating, and uniting columns in tables

• Detect explicit and implicit missing values in a dataset

Module 6: Relational Data

• Join tables using: mutating joins, filtering joins, set operations

Module 7: Data Transformation

Use R functions to:

• rename variables

• pick variables by their names

• pick observations by their values

• reorder rows

• create new variables with functions of existing variables

• analyze the data frame by groups

Module 8: Visualizing Data (in ggplot2)

• Identify appropriate figure styles for your data type

• Use of ggplot2 syntax to present data visually

FORMAT:

• 3 months of access to course materials as you work at your own pace 

CONTINUING EDUCATION:

• 16 CEUs with The Wildlife Society

• 4 CEUs in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training with the Ecological Society of America (go to our Continuing Education Page for more details)

FORMAT:

• 3 months of access to course materials as you work at your own pace 

• Get instructor support for the 3-month term via email, discussion threads, group meetings, and one-on-one appointments

• After working through the course materials, set up an optional meeting with the instructor to discuss your own personal project from work or school

CONTINUING EDUCATION:

• 16 CEUs with The Wildlife Society

• 4 CEUs in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training with the Ecological Society of America (go to our Continuing Education Page for more details)

CERTIFICATIONS:

• Earn 1 credit toward certification as an Ecologist (at any level) with Ecological Society of America

• Earn 1 credit toward certification as an Associate/Certified Wildlife Biologist® (at any level) with The Wildlife Society

FORMAT:

• 12 months of access to course materials as you work at your own pace 

• Get instructor support for the 3-month term via email, discussion threads, group meetings, and one-on-one appointments

• After working through the course materials, set up an optional meeting with the instructor to discuss your own personal project from work or school

CONTINUING EDUCATION:

• 16 CEUs with The Wildlife Society

• 4 CEUs in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training with the Ecological Society of America

• Go to our Continuing Education Page for more details

CERTIFICATIONS:

• Earn 1 credit towards a professional certificate in Applied Quantitative Ecology with CWS

• Earn 1 credit toward certification as an Ecologist (at any level) with Ecological Society of America

• Earn 1 credit toward certification as an Associate/Certified Wildlife Biologist® (at any level) with The Wildlife Society

ACADEMIC CREDIT:

• Earn 1 academic credit (go to our Academic Credit Page for details)

• Earn an additional 1-2 academic credits with an Applied Project