Have a look at the structure
Another method that is often used to get a rapid overview of your data is the function str()
. The function str()
shows you the structure of your dataset. For a data frame it tells you:
- The total number of observations (e.g. 32 car types)
- The total number of variables (e.g. 11 car features)
- A full list of the variables names (e.g.
mpg
,cyl
… ) - The data type of each variable (e.g.
num
) - The first observations
Applying the str()
] function will often be the first thing that you do when receiving a new dataset or data frame. It is a great way to get more insight in your dataset before diving into the real analysis.
This is a part of the course
“Introduction to R”
Exercise instructions
Investigate the structure of mtcars
. Make sure that you see the same numbers, variables and data types as mentioned above.
Hands-on interactive exercise
Have a go at this exercise by completing this sample code.
# Investigate the structure of mtcars
This exercise is part of the course
Introduction to R
Master the basics of data analysis in R, including vectors, lists, and data frames, and practice R with real data sets.
Most datasets you will be working with will be stored as data frames. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to create a data frame, select interesting parts of a data frame, and order a data frame according to certain variables.
Exercise 1: What's a data frame?Exercise 2: Quick, have a look at your datasetExercise 3: Have a look at the structureExercise 4: Creating a data frameExercise 5: Creating a data frame (2)Exercise 6: Selection of data frame elementsExercise 7: Selection of data frame elements (2)Exercise 8: Only planets with ringsExercise 9: Only planets with rings (2)Exercise 10: Only planets with rings but shorterExercise 11: SortingExercise 12: Sorting your data frameWhat is DataCamp?
Learn the data skills you need online at your own pace—from non-coding essentials to data science and machine learning.