Department of Biostatistics Seminar/Workshop Series
Reproducible Research with R, LaTeX, & Sweave
Theresa Scott, M.S.
Biostatistician III, Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Wednesday, June 18, 1:30-2:30pm, MRBIII Conference Room 1220
Intended Audience: Persons interested in applied statistics, statistical theory, epidemiology, health services research, clinical trials methodology, statistical computing, statistical graphics, R users or potential users
In this one-hour seminar, we will first introduce the concept and importance of reproducible research. We will then cover how we can use R, LaTex, and Sweave to automatically generate statistical reports to ensure reproducible research. Each software component will be briefly introduced: R, the free interactive programming language and environment used to perform the desired statistical analysis (including the generation of graphics); LaTeX, the typesetting system used to produce the written portion of the statistical report; and Sweave, the flexible framework used to embed the R code into a LaTeX document, to compile the R code, and to insert the desired output into the generated statistical report. The steps to generate a reproducible statistical report from scratch using the three software components will then be presented using a detailed example. The ability to regenerate the report when the data or analysis changes and to automatically update the output will also be demonstrated. In addition, the seminar will provide useful tips and needed resources/references.