---
title: "1.0 Data Science and R"
---

```{r}
#| label: setup
#| include: false
knitr::opts_chunk$set(
  echo = TRUE,
  message = FALSE,
  warning = FALSE,
  fig.width = 6,
  fig.height = 3.6,
  fig.align = "center",
  dpi = 120,
  error = TRUE,
  fig.path = "_figs/data-science-and-r/"
)
library(tidyverse)
```

Data science blends statistics, computing, and a domain question. This course uses R for that cycle.

A blue bar on the left is R code. A gray bar is the output.

## 1. What this course is for

DATA 612 is statistical programming in R, inside a data-science workflow. You will import data, tidy it, plot it, summarize it, and write the work so someone else (or you, next month) can rerun it.

Data science is a blend of statistics, computing, and a question from a domain. No one person owns every piece. A project is usually a team.

![A Venn diagram of statistics, computing, and domain knowledge](files/graphics/DS_venn_annotated.png)

R is the language for this course because it was built for statistics, it is free, and the tidyverse is a consistent grammar for tables. Python is also widely used. We stay with R.

---

## 2. A working cycle

Wickham and Grolemund's picture in *R for Data Science* is the one we will keep coming back to: import, tidy, transform, visualize, model, communicate, then go around again.

![The R for Data Science cycle](files/graphics/R4DS_cycle.png)

The first pass is almost never the last. A plot changes the question. A model sends you back to the table.

---

## 3. Tools for the cycle

| Job | What we use |
| --- | --- |
| Language | R |
| Editor | RStudio / Posit Desktop |
| Tables | tidyverse: `dplyr`, `tidyr`, `readr` |
| Plots | `ggplot2` |
| Documents | Quarto (or R Markdown) |

The syllabus on the course page is the contract for due dates and policies. Chapter 1 of *R for Data Science* is the reading that matches this note.

---

## 4. Practice

1. In one sentence, what mix of skills does a data-science project need?
2. Name the six verbs on the R for Data Science cycle.
3. Why does this course use R rather than a spreadsheet for the same tables?