Course Syllabus

Page 1

R Programming
I&C SCI x425.20

Class Meeting Information
Start Date: June 30, 2014
End Date: August 17, 2014
7 class meetings
Online

Instructor Information
Dr. Ash Pahwa
Office Phone: (949) 378-1229
Email: ash@ashpahwa.com
Website: www.AshPahwa.com






Ash Pahwa, Ph.D., is an educator, author, entrepreneur, and technology visionary with three decades
of industry and academic experience. He has founded several successful technology companies during
his career, the latest of which is A+ Web Services.

Dr. Pahwa earned his doctorate in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in
Chicago. He is listed in Who's Who in the Frontiers of Science and Technology. He is also a Google
Certified Analytics Consultant. His expertise includes search engine optimization, web analytics, web
programming, digital image processing, database management, digital video, and data storage
technologies.

In Industry, Dr. Pahwa has worked for General Electric, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Xerox Corporation,
and Oracle. He founded CD-Gen, Inc. and DV Studio Technologies, LLC., which introduced successful
products for CD-Recording (CDR) and MPEG encoding. His book, CD-Recordable Bible was published
in English, Japanese, and German.

In Academia, Dr. Pahwa teaches internet technology courses and conducts webinars in the University
of California system. Since 2008, he taught many courses at UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC San Diego,
including:

Website Development Digital Marketing Predictive Analytics
WordPress CMS
Search Engine
Optimization
R Programming
Microsoft ASP.NET Web Analytics
Predictive Analytics Using
Google Analytics
Google AdWords MATLAB Programming



Prerequisites Classes or Knowledge Required for this Course
Basic Math: Statistics, Functions, Matrix
Basic Programming


Ash Pahwa, Ph.D.
Course Syllabus
Page 2


Course Description

R is a scripting language for statistical data manipulation and analysis. It is an open-source software package
available under GNU license and is available at no cost. R competes with SPSS, another well-known statistical
package used heavily in many industries. R applications include correlation, regression, hypothesis testing, and
all inference testing.

Statistics are used in every part of business, science, and institutional data processing. Data captured by web
analytics services is also in need of statistical analysis. Statistics also forms the foundation of the emerging field
of Predictive Analytics.

The course will focus on R programming which is used for solving problems related to basic math and statistics.
First, all relevant math concepts will be reviewed. This will include functions, regression, descriptive and
inferential statistics, and matrix operations. All these basic math problems will be solved using R. The
programmatic interface and graphic capabilities of R will also be explored.

The last 2 lessons will focus on solving Predictive Analytics problems using the R statistical software package.

Predictive Analytics Impact in Marketing and Management

As stated before, R is a scripting language for statistical data manipulation and analysis. One of the primary
applications of the R package is Predictive Analytics.

Predictive Analytics is fast becoming a main-stream technology used by Fortune 500 corporations. As the name
suggests, it seeks to predict the outcome of a certain event. The applications of Predictive Analytics are quite
wide-ranging, from predicting insurance fraud to predicting the probability that a customer may return a purchased
item to predicting election outcomes. A well-known success story about Predictive Analytics is its role in predicting
the performance of the baseball players which allowed the Boston Red Sox to win 2 World Series titles. The
Hollywood movie, Moneyball, which is based on a true story was created on a similar theme.

Predictive Analytics is based on statistical techniques such as correlation, bivariate analysis, ANOVA, multiple
regressions, etc. It is a major component of Marketing and Management which is covered in most MBA programs.

Learning Objectives

The course goal is to prepare students to solve real-world business problems specifically Predictive Analytics
problems - related to math and statistics using R. After successful completion of this course, a student will:

Understand R programming language
Revisit basic math concepts: Functions, Matrix, Statistics
Understand descriptive and inferential statistics
Plot graphs using graphics utility of R
Perform regression and correlation using R tools
Conduct statistical modeling using R
Understanding how R can be used for Predictive Analytics


Methodology
This course will be taught online.

Course Syllabus
Page 3

Course Text
The following books will be used as reference:
The R Book (Second Edition)
by Michael Crawley

ISBN: 978-0-470-97392-9

The Art of R Programming
by Normal Matloff

ISBN: 978-1-59327-384-2


Evaluation & Grading
Each week a homework assignment will be posted which will contain a few questions based on that weeks
material. The purpose of the homework assignment is for students to research that topic and formulate the
answers. This will enable students to retain that knowledge. Each homework assignment is worth 10 points.


Evaluation of Student Performance
Homework assignments 100 points

Total 100 points

Grading Scale
Points
Earned
Grade
97-100 A+
94-96 A
90-93 A-
87-89 B+
84-86 B
80-83 B-
77-79 C+
74-76 C
70-73 C-
67-69 D+
65-66 D
0-64 F
Course Syllabus
Page 4

Course Outline









































Lesson Subject
01
Introduction to R Installing & Running R

This lesson will introduce the R software package. It will discuss how to
download the software and install the software package on their computer.
The basic GUI of R software package will be covered.
02
R Language Part 1:
Data types
Basic Functions
Vector Functions

03
R Language Part 2:
List, Text and Dates
Writing Functions
Data IO

04
R Graphics

R contains very sophisticated tools to visualize the data using graphics.
The GUI for its graphics package will be covered.
05
Basic Math: Functions, Statistics, Probability, Linear Algebra

This lesson will review the basic Math concepts which include functions,
Statistics and Probability, Linear Algebra
06
Regression (linear & non-linear) & Predictive Analytics


07
Statistical Modeling & Predictive Analytics