Beyond Downloading: Automating Data Retrieval with Web Scraping

Learn the background and the the fundamentals of web scraping including what it is, when to use it, and techniques that will limit headaches. We will use R to perform some basic web scraping.

Pre-requisites

• Install R
  • Windows & Mac: Go to the CRAN Project Website.
  • Select your operating system and download the latest installer.
  • Run the installer using all default standard options.
• Download Positron
  • Navigate to the official Positron Releases Repository on GitHub.
  • Scroll down to the Assets section of the latest stable build.
  • Download the installer matching your OS (e.g., .exe for Windows, .dmg for Mac).
  • Launch Positron and confirm that it automatically detects your R installation engine.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Use web scrapping techniques to gather/access data not easily downloadable or embedded on a website