【R language】

For MBA students without informational backgrounds, business analytics mainly relies on the use of tools, and R language is undoubtedly the most convenient tool to be used in marketing communication, finance, managerial accounting, operation management, and human resource management. From traditional database, big data, cluster computing, to artificial intelligence and deep learning, the advanced packages of R could be applied to all of them, and these packages can be downloaded for free and legal. Besides, for business school students, most of the online courses are allowed auditing. The only prerequisite for using these online resources is to be able to use the R language to do basic data analysis in advance, and the goal of this self-study map is to help students build the basic ability.

 

【Online teaching platforms】

Coursera and DataCamp are both very popular online teaching platforms. The advantages of the former are that the course content is more systematic and the course structure is relatively solid. We think this teaching method is more suitable for the more mature traditional probability and statistics; while the latter provides lots of online practices and people can get start quickly, so it would be more suitable for the fast-developing data science and business applications that are constantly innovating.

 

 

【Free vs. Paid courses】

For the completeness of learning, we have included some paid courses from DataCamp and Coursera in this learning map. Although online teaching platform (MOOCs) needs income to maintain its operation, the teaching platform is very friendly to students. If you are a student, you can take courses from DataCamp for free in a certain period of time; as for Coursera, you can also take courses for free only when you register for this course and select the “Audit” option. If you are the students from college of management of NSYSU and you need help, you are welcome to reach as at the classroom R4091-1 (ext:4607). We will help you solve the problem.

 

【Primary track of A-B-C】

For students without informational management background, we recommend you take the seven courses in the three tracks A, B, and C in order. Track A is the introduction of R language; track B introduces the two important packages that will be used in subsequent courses; track C is about data exploration and case analysis. In addition to being easy to learn, taking this track (A-B-C) will also show you the powerful analytical capabilities of R. You are able to do a delicate analysis of business data just through the basic functions and graphing of R.

 

【Assistant track of D】

When doing data analysis, we will definitely need to handle graphing, text, and dates problem, and we often also need to use program logic such as loops. These “miscellaneous items” will be learned one after another in the primary track. For most people, track D can be put aside and come back to learn when you are in need.

 

【Statistical track of E, F, and G】

The traditional statistical analyses emphasize more on theories because they are mainly used to verify whether there is a significant relationship between variables; while the business analytics nowadays are more practical, we use historical data to predict the future trend. Having said that, we still need to learn and use more complex commercial analysis tools based on solid theoretical foundations. For students who never study managerial statistics, we would like to recommend you to select E path as the first learning path. This track can be seen as a “crash course”, helping you develop basic statistical knowledge within few courses and letting you do some simple business analytics. However, statistics is actually a very large field. If you really want to learn it well, you still have to take more systematic courses. The track of F and G are the official statistical program offered by University of Amsterdam and Duke University, respectively. Both of the programs consist of five courses, and they also provide detailed teaching tutorial and courses from DataCamp for students to practice. For master students, we would suggest the F track. The program offered by University of Amsterdam is more approachable. It uses a lot of sample questions to help you understand some of the more difficult concepts in statistics and make learning easier and more interesting. As for doctoral students, you can consider the track G. This online program offered by Duke University is more rigorous. The advantage of the program is that it covers more advanced and complicated analyses, like nonparametric statistics and Bayesian statistics, etc.

 

【Collaborative learning, keep growing】

We encourage students to study together; therefore, we will divide students into several groups and make the background of group members be diversified. With different background students in a group, it will be more helpful for students to learn from each other. Also, we will arrange some online courses from DataCamp Classroom for students. Students can take the online courses during the winter vacation in advance, and the more advanced packages, skills, and business application will be introduced after the semester begins. The Management Studies Research Center of NSYSU is promoting the way of using R language for business analytics. Teachers and students who are interested in the field, please leave your name, email and simple message at the bottom of this article; we will send follow-up related articles to you. Furthermore, it is welcome if you would like to share the website with the friends who want to learn R language.