Introduction to R

A live online short course from Bristol Medical School, run over three half days, for anyone who handles data but has never used R and wants a solid starting point for using it in their everyday work. R is an open source statistical programming language created specifically for data analysis. It is extremely versatile, which makes it a popular choice for health researchers, and many of the researchers at Bristol Medical School use it for their own analyses. This course introduces R and gives you the foundations you need to start exploring its huge potential for statistical analysis. For dementia researchers, R is increasingly the default for analysing cohort, imaging and omics data. If you are still deciding what to learn, Which programming language should I use? weighs up the options, our guide to free research tools for PhD students covers the wider toolkit, and Many Models in R shows where you can take it next. Bristol is also running an Introduction to Stata course the week before.

What the course covers

1. Conducting basic calculations
2. Using variables, functions, scripts and control structures, such as if statements and for loops
3. Working with packages
4. Using data structures, including vectors, matrices and data frames
5. Reading data into and writing data out of R
6. Creating some basic plots

The course does not contain much statistical analysis. Some simple routines are used as examples, but the aim is to get you comfortable with R so you can go on to explore the range of analyses it offers.

What you will learn

By the end of the course you should be able to:

• Carry out the basic operations of R
• Read in data from multiple sources
• Understand, manipulate and explore R objects such as vectors, matrices and data frames
• Find help on a command and explore similar commands
• Use R script files to organise your commands
• Use control structures and functions to write robust, reusable code
• Display summary statistics and basic plots
• Download, install and find documentation for additional R libraries

Tutors

The course is organised by Dr Ahmed Elhakeem, Eleanor Walsh and Dr Ruth Salway, Bristol Medical School researchers who use R in their own work.

Who should attend

The course is open to all, subject to the prerequisites. It is for people with no previous experience of R who want to use it day to day for storing, summarising and analysing data. You will need some experience of handling data, but no knowledge of R or of statistical analysis is assumed. Practical sessions use Posit Cloud as the interface for R, and a link is provided, so you do not need to install anything. If you are already comfortable with a desktop version of R you can use that instead; see the R installation instructions. Two screens, or one large one, are recommended so you can follow the live lectures while doing the practical work.

Format

The course runs online over three half days, Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 December 2026, with live lectures and practicals. Materials go up on Blackboard Ultra one to two weeks beforehand. Live lectures are recorded and uploaded within 24 hours, and you keep access to the materials and recordings for five months after the course. Breakout sessions are not recorded.

Cost

The fee is £380. Check the fees and voucher packs page to see if you are eligible for a free or discounted place. Bookings close two weeks before the course starts, on Monday 23 November 2026, and you need to register an account on the booking system. Book a place

Organised by the Bristol Medical School Short Course Programme, University of Bristol. Full details on the course page.