How to Use R to Add Data Sets

An R Data Set is a Data Set that is created using R. Refer to Data Sets for a discussion of other types of data that can be imported into Q.

How to approach using R to add a data set

When writing the R code for an R Data Set you are not able to refer to other outputs or variables that exist in your Q Project. This is different from R Outputs and R Variables, where the underlying technology allows you to refer to variables and outputs throughout your project.

As a result, the R code that you use to create a data set needs to both bring in a source of data and process it into the rows and columns that you want to appear as your cases and variables in Q.

The data source can be:

A file on your local machine. You can use functions like read.spss() or read.csv(). When referring to the location of the file, you must use double backslashes (\\) or single forward slashes (/) when describing the file path. An example of this approach is
```
location = "C:\\Users\\Chris\\Desktop\\Cola Tracking - January to September 2017.sav"

library(foreign)
datafile = read.spss(location, use.value.labels = FALSE, to.data.frame = TRUE)
```

A file located at a URL (again using read.csv or similar).

location = "https://wiki.q-researchsoftware.com/images/3/35/Technology_2018.sav"
library(foreign)
datafile = read.spss(location, use.value.labels = FALSE, to.data.frame = TRUE)

Data obtained using an API of some kind (e.g. Google Analytics, Twitter, or just about anything else enabled by R).

File > Data Sets > Add to Project > From R.
Enter the code for creating a Data Set into the R CODE box. In the example below, an SPSS data file is being read in using the R function read.spss from the foreign package.
Press F5. This will generate a preview of the Data Set's contents.
Enter a Name (at the bottom of the screen).
Press Add Data Set. Q will then take you through the normal process for setting up data as if you had imported a data file.

When to use R Data Sets

In general, R Data Sets should not be used for importing data files that can be imported into Q via File > Data Sets > Add to Project > From File, as doing so will bypass a host of tools designed to check and correct problems in data.

The main use cases for R Data Sets are:

Importing unusual types of data (e.g., web-scraping).
Manipulating data prior to creating a data file (e.g., merging lots of data files).
Having data sets that automatically update in your project.

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