David W. Gerbing - R Data Analysis without Programming

R DATA ANALYSIS WITHOUT PROGRAMMING

This book prepares readers to analyze data and interpret statistical results using R more quickly than other texts. R is a challenging program to learn because code must be created to get started. To alleviate that challenge, Professor Gerbing developed lessR . The extensions provided by lessR remove the need to program. By introducing R through lessR , readers learn how to organize data for analysis, read the data into R , and produce output without performing numerous functions and programming exercises first. With lessR , readers can select the necessary procedure and change the relevant variables without programming. The text reviews basic statistical procedures with the lessR enhancements added to the standard R environment, complete with input, output, and an extensive interpretation of the results. Through the use of lessR , R becomes immediately accessible to the novice user and easier to use for the experienced user.

Highlights of the book include:

Quick starts that introduce readers to the concepts and commands reviewed in the chapters.

Margin notes that highlight, define, illustrate, and cross-reference the key concepts. When readers encounter a term previously discussed, the margin notes identify the page number to the initial introduction.

Scenarios that highlight the use of a specific analysis followed by the corresponding R / lessR input and an interpretation of the resulting output.

Numerous examples of output from psychology, business, education, and other social sciences, that demonstrate how to interpret results.

Two data sets, provided on the books website and analyzed multiple times in the book, provide continuity throughout.

End of chapter worked problems help readers test their understanding of the concepts.

A website at www.lessRstats.com that features the lessR program, the books data sets referenced in standard text and SPSS formats so readers can practice using R/lessR by working through the text examples and worked problems, PDF slides for each chapter, solutions to the books worked problems, links to R/lessR videos to help readers better understand the program, and more.

An ideal supplement for graduate or advanced undergraduate courses in statistics, research methods, or any course in which R is used, taught in departments of psychology, business, education, and other social and health sciences, this book will also be appreciated by researchers interested in using R for their data analysis. Prerequisites include basic statistical knowledge. Knowledge of R is not assumed.

David W. Gerbing is a Professor in the School of Business Administration at Portland State University. He has published extensively in psychology, sociology, education, statistics, and business.

R DATA ANALYSIS WITHOUT PROGRAMMING

David W. Gerbing

First published 2014

by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge

27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2014 Taylor & Francis

The right of David W. Gerbing to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Gerbing, David W.

R data analysis without programming / David Gerbing.

pages cm

1. R (Computer program language) 2. Mathematical statisticsData

processing. I. Title.

QA276.45.R3G46 2013

519.502855133dc23

2013024185

ISBN: 978-0-415-64173-9 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-65720-4 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-85675-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Stone Serif and Stone Sans

By Cenveo Publisher Services

To the wonderful woman who is my wife

Rachel Maculan Sodr

Eu te amo

BRIEF CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Purpose

This book is addressed to the student, researcher, and/or data analyst who wishes to analyze data using R to answer questions of interest. The structuring of the data for analysis, doing the analysis with the computer, and then interpreting the results are the skills to which this book is directed. Explicit instructions to use the computer for the analysis are provided, but using the computer is the easy part of data analysis, especially with the computer instructions provided in this book. By far, more content of this book is oriented toward the meaning of the analyses and interpretation of the results.

The computational tools discussed in this book are based on the open source and free R system that is becoming the worlds standard for data analysis. Unlike commercial packages, R costs no money and can be installed at will on any Windows, Macintosh or Linux system. By itself, however, R presents a rather steep learning curve as it requires the ability to write computer code to do data analysis. To make data analysis with R more accessible, this book features a set of extensions to R called lessR . These extensions ease the transition of the new user into using R for data analysis and for many users contain the only computational tools they will need.

The ultimate goal of this book is to make R accessible to users of SPSS and similar commercial packages, and, indeed, help facilitate R to become the preferred choice of any data analysis system. For data analysts with a proclivity for program computer code, R has already emerged as the preferred choice. The lessR extensions to R remove the need to program and so are designed to provide access to R for all data analysts. To the extent that R becomes as straightforward to use and as comprehensive in its range of analyses as its commercial alternatives, then it becomes a viable choice as the preferred data analysis system both in the field and for instruction.

This is the first book that follows the format of the many SPSS based data analysis texts, with emphasis on both the instructions to produce the analysis, plus detailed interpretation of the resulting output. This book, however, applies the R/lessR system for conducting the analysis, made possible with the lessR extensions. Traditional R books on data analysis provide some interpretation, but much more space is required to explain the programming needed to obtain the output.

Intended Audience

This book is indented to serve as a supplementary text for graduate or advanced undergraduate courses in statistics, research methods, or any course in which R is used, taught in departments of psychology, business, education, and other social and health sciences. The book will also be helpful to researchers interested in using R for their data analysis. Prerequisites include basic statistical knowledge. Knowledge of R is not assumed.

Overview of Content

The first chapter shows how to download R and then