Data Analysis for Sport in R

With professional sports teams and athletes placing greater emphasis on technology and data in their quest for success and victory, there’s never been a better time to study sports analytics.

This course will provide advanced knowledge of the management, analysis, interpretation and communication of data related to high performance sport. Students will use the data analysis program R to critically analyse and interpret sports data. The unit will provide students with programming skills to manage sports data efficiently and automate data processes.

Why Learn R?

Employers see R as an inherently useful and valuable skill. This is especially true in any industry that relies on data analysis. With the constant boom in big data and data science more and more job opportunities are evolving everyday providing the data analysts a big chance to take their careers to the next level. WHether that is inside a club or in the world of business R is a valuable skill to learn.

About the Course:

Who should take this course: The course assumes no prior knowledge of R and will act as a great starting point to understanding the programme and how best to apply it to sports data. Likewise if you already have an understanding of R there is still plenty for you here.

The course is divided in 20 modules each containing short clear video examples of the steps needed to start learning R. Along the way there are a series of questions & assignments where you can put your learning into practice.

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Critically analyse and interpret sports data using the data analysis program R;

2. Effectively visualise and communicate data to a variety of audiences in sport; and

3. Efficiently manage and transform sports data using data science techniques.

Created By:

This course was developed by Dr Jocelyn Mara, Assistant Professor in Sports Analytics at the University of Canberra.

Previously Jocelyn worked as a Performance Analysis Scholar at the Australian Institute of Sport where she provided performance analysis services across a range of sports including swimming, football, netball and water polo. From 2013-2016, Jocelyn completed a PhD in the performance analysis of elite female soccer players, while holding the role of performance analyst for the Canberra United Football Club with responsibility for GPS analysis of players during training and matches.

How it Works & FAQ’s:

How is the course delivered? : The course is delivered online, you can take the course at your own pace and in your own time.

Is the course Certified? : Yes you will receive a course certification on completion of the assignments (80% pass rate). The Certificate is from the University of Canberra.

Do I need to provide data? : Sample data will be provided for each assignment

Can R be installed on Windows and Mac? : R can be run on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It can also import data from Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, MySQL, SQLite, Oracle and other programs.

Full Syllabus: