8  Included Datasets

R comes with a variety of datasets already built in. This chapter will teach you how to view the catalog of included datasets, preview individual datasets, and begin working with the data.

8.1 View Catalog

You can view the complete list of datasets available along with a brief description for each one by typing “data()” into your console.

data()

This will open a new tab in your RStudio instance that looks similar to the following image:

8.2 Working with Included Data

The first step to begin working with your chosen dataset is to load it into your environment by using the “data” function with the quoted name of your dataset inside the parentheses. In the following example, we’ll attach the “iris” dataset to our environment.

Note

It may not be necessary for you to load your dataset via the “data” function prior to using it. Additionally, some datasets may require you to add them to your search path by using using the “attach” function (conversely, you can remove datasets from your search path by using the “detach” function).

data("iris")

This command will add a new object “iris” to our R session. Let’s preview the “iris” dataset by using the “head” function.

head(iris)
Sepal.Length Sepal.Width Petal.Length Petal.Width Species
5.1 3.5 1.4 0.2 setosa
4.9 3.0 1.4 0.2 setosa
4.7 3.2 1.3 0.2 setosa
4.6 3.1 1.5 0.2 setosa
5.0 3.6 1.4 0.2 setosa
5.4 3.9 1.7 0.4 setosa

Finally, you can view more information about any given dataset by typing its name into the “Help” tab in the “Files” pane.

8.3 Common Datasets

Here are a few other datasets commonly used in the R community to practice and to teach.

8.3.1 mtcars

head(mtcars)
mpg cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am gear carb
Mazda RX4 21.0 6 160 110 3.90 2.620 16.46 0 1 4 4
Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0 6 160 110 3.90 2.875 17.02 0 1 4 4
Datsun 710 22.8 4 108 93 3.85 2.320 18.61 1 1 4 1
Hornet 4 Drive 21.4 6 258 110 3.08 3.215 19.44 1 0 3 1
Hornet Sportabout 18.7 8 360 175 3.15 3.440 17.02 0 0 3 2
Valiant 18.1 6 225 105 2.76 3.460 20.22 1 0 3 1

8.3.2 faithful

head(faithful)
eruptions waiting
3.600 79
1.800 54
3.333 74
2.283 62
4.533 85
2.883 55

8.3.3 ChickWeight

head(ChickWeight)
weight Time Chick Diet
42 0 1 1
51 2 1 1
59 4 1 1
64 6 1 1
76 8 1 1
93 10 1 1

8.3.4 Titanic

head(Titanic)
, , Age = Child, Survived = No

      Sex
Class  Male Female
  1st     0      0
  2nd     0      0
  3rd    35     17
  Crew    0      0

, , Age = Adult, Survived = No

      Sex
Class  Male Female
  1st   118      4
  2nd   154     13
  3rd   387     89
  Crew  670      3

, , Age = Child, Survived = Yes

      Sex
Class  Male Female
  1st     5      1
  2nd    11     13
  3rd    13     14
  Crew    0      0

, , Age = Adult, Survived = Yes

      Sex
Class  Male Female
  1st    57    140
  2nd    14     80
  3rd    75     76
  Crew  192     20

8.4 Resources