R Proficiency Ratings

Many courses in the OOMPH program use the R programming language for statistical analysis. We designed this rating system to help you understand what to expect in terms of R skills required in those classes.

This first table describes the levels of proficiency (0–3). The second table specifies the level you can expect to reach after taking each course.

Level	Description
0 – None	Individual has no experience with R or any programming language Individual has not taken PH142 or PHW142
1 – Beginner	Identifies self as “Not very comfortable” with R Individual is currently learning the basics of R e.g. Syntax (the rules that define the combinations of symbols that form correct statements ) How to use functions How to use basic data structures (vectors and data frames) How to import and export data How to find and interpret documentation Individual can perform an internet search on a bug/error Individual can create an R script file and run it Note: an individual proficient in another programming language likely starts at this level or greater with R
2 – Developing	Identifies self as “Somewhat comfortable” with R Individual is familiar with basic R syntax Individual can independently use documentation to learn new functions Individual can knit R Markdown documents in several formats (e.g. PDF, HTML) Individual can import and export several data formats (e.g. CSV, XLS) Individual can access and manipulate various data types (e.g. vectors, data frames)
3 – Proficient	Identifies self as “Comfortable” with R Individual can investigate and fix many bugs independently Individual can help others troubleshoot Individual understands multiple ways to do the same basic things e.g. Subsetting data frames Extracting rows and columns Individual can write their own simple functions

Courses Using R

If the minimum level for incoming students is N, but your level is N-1 or below, you should not enroll in that course before getting additional training. These ratings are also noted in the Course Catalog.

Course	Minimum level for incoming students	Minimum level expected after course completion	R version used
PHW142: Introduction to Probability and Statistics	0 – None	2 – Developing	Local
PHW251: R for Public Health	0 – None	3 – Proficient	DataHub
PHW251B: Data Visualization	2 – Developing	2 – Developing	Local
PHW272A: Intro to GIS for Public Health	2 – Developing	3 – Proficient	Local
PHW241: Intermediate Biostatistics for Public Health	2 – Developing	3 – Proficient	Local
PHW253: Outbreak Investigations	2 – Developing	3 – Proficient	DataHub
PHW252A: Causal Inference For Public Health Professionals	2 – Developing	3 – Proficient	TBD
PHW252: Epidemiological Analysis	3 – Proficient	3 – Proficient	Local
PHW272C: Applied Spatial Data Science for Public Health	3 – Proficient	3 – Proficient	Local

If you find issues with or have questions about this page please contact David Connell.