Video: reproducible documents with R Markdown
Open research is built on the principles of transparency and reproducability. Often, the tools we use to produce outputs from our research, such as manuscripts, presentations and posters, do not allow for this. We often see the raw data and the finished article, but not the steps in between.
Moreover, using many separate, proprietary tools for different stages of producing research outputs (e.g. Excel for data-wrangling, SPSS for analysis, Word for text and tables, Powerpoint for presentations) can cause issues if a change needs to be made at an earlier stage of the process, because each subsequent step in the chain needs to be redone to reproduce the final output.
R Markdown allows the integration of data, analysis, visualisations and citations into a single document. This single R Markdown document can then be used to generate different outputs, as needed (e.g. Word, PDF, HTML, Powerpoint, and many others).
Workflow is simplified because changes at the raw data or analysis stages will immediately be reflected in the final output, which can be regenerated instantly. In addition, anyone viewing the R Markdown document can see the code used to generate the outputs, allowing them to replicate the process.
Below is a video introduction to R Markdown for those who are new to, but have some familiarity with, R and R Studio:
Christopher J Wilson
Associate Professor of Psychology
Experimental psychologist with interest in decision making, risk, attention, perception and virtual reality. Open to collaborations with researchers, third sector organisations and industry in the areas of financial decision-making, efficacy of financial education, the effects of psychological stress/distress on financial behaviour. I code lab & web-based behavioural studies using JavaScript / python. I use fNIRS, Eyetracking and VR in research. I conduct analysis in R. https://research.tees.ac.uk/en/persons/chris-wilson