9. Feb 2026
Introduction to Statistics and R (March 26, 27, 30 and 31, 2026 | onsite)
Content
R has become a leading statistical programming language in data science and statistics. The R software is free, highly extensible, and allows to easily produce publication-quality plots. The aim of this course is to equip participants with the basic skills to effectively use the software R, embedded in the user interface RStudio. These skills will cover data import, processing and data exploration, graphical representations with ggplot2, basic concepts of statistical inference and linear regression. All topics will be demonstrated in working examples and practiced with hands on examples.
In the first two days we are going to teach the basic functionality of R, RStudio, and ggplot2. Day three and four are dedicated to the application of statistical tests, which will be extended to linear mixed-effects models.
Specific Topics
Part I (March 26 and 27)
- Introduction to R and RStudio
- Data types (vectors, data frames, lists)
- Explorative data analysis
- Data handling and manipulation with tidyverse
- Creating and customizing plots with ggplot2
Part II (March 30 and 31)
- Recap of the principles of statistical testing
- T-test, correlations, and linear regression models
- Model evaluation and model selection
- Introduction to linear mixed-effects models
Aim
The workshop should prepare participants to read, clean, and explore their own datasets. They will become familiar with the basic workflow of statistical analyses and should become capable to conduct their own analyses.
Methodology
The workshop will consist of lectures, working examples and practical exercises, each covering roughly one third of the course time.
Target Audience
Doctoral students and Postdocs which want to become acquainted with the R language and the basics of linear regression and model selection. No previous knowledge in R or statistics will be required.
Terms and Application
- March 26-27 & 30-31, 2026: each day 9 am – 4 pm
- Format: on-site at MLU
- Location: Von-Seckendorff-Platz 1, SR: 5.10 (roof level)
- Group size: maximum 20
- Workshop-Language: English
- Applications are considered in chronological order of receipt. You get information.
Registration
Trainer
Dr. Stephan Kambach, PostDoc at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.
Dr. Christian Ristok, PostDoc at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and University Leipzig
