How to rename columns in R
In this blog post, I'll show you how to rename columns in R. This is pretty straightforward if you know how to do it properly, but there are also some little challenges in renaming variables. So very briefly, I'll explain why renaming variables in a dataframe can be a...
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How to create a substring in R
If you want to be a data scientist, you need to master core data manipulation tools. One particular skill you'll need to master is string manipulation. You need to be able to work with strings (i.e. character data) in order to clean, modify, or reshape them. In this...
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A quick and dirty guide to the dplyr filter function
You've probably heard it before: 80% of your work as a data scientist will be data wrangling. While that's sort of a rough number, experience bears out that data wrangling is a massive part of your job as a data scientist. As such, it pays to know data manipulation....
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The ultimate guide to the ggplot histogram
The ggplot histogram is very easy to make. But like many things in ggplot2, it can seem a little complicated at first. In this article, we'll show you exactly how to make a simple ggplot histogram, show you how to modify it, explain how it can be used, and more. Let's...
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A key for mastering data science
A few days ago, I received an email from a Sharp Sight reader. The author of the email is having trouble learning data science in R. He's taken several data science courses, but still has trouble with critical data science skills. Here's an excerpt from his email:...
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You don’t need to know much math for data science
Recently, a Sharp Sight blog reader emailed me and asked for advice about data science prerequisites. He was nervous about math. Someone had told him that in order to study data science, he needed to learn a long list of math topics first: Precalculus Calculus Multi...
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How to add a column to a dataframe in R
Data manipulation is a critical, core skill in data science. If you want to get a job as a data scientist, you need to master basic data manipulation operations. Ideally, you should be able to write them rapidly, and from memory (no looking them up on Google!). A very...
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The ultimate guide to bar charts using geom_bar
Here at Sharp Sight, we have a particular philosophy about learning data science: master the fundamentals. Data science is just like any other skill: if you want to be great at what you do, it pays to master foundational skills. If you look at true masters in any...
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