R Packages

Author

Steven J. Pierce

Modified

2026-03-10 19:18:59 EDT

In addition to providing access to custom R functions, one can use R packages as research compendiums (Marwick et al., 2018) that organize raw data, documentation, data management scripts, analysis scripts, and statistical results in a convenient format. The scripts can contain narrative text interleaved with R code that can manage data and insert formatted text, tables, figures, and reference sections when you render the script into a dynamic document. Below is a list of my publicly accessible R packages. I have others in preparation that will remain private repositories until relevant scholarly products have been published.

The SAWpaper and SSACHR packages listed below relied on R Markdown scripts, but I now use Quarto (Allaire et al., 2026) scripts as part of my suite of software tools for producing research compendiums.

1 CHOPStudy

The CHOPStudy package is the research compendium for a recently published paper (Eliason et al., 2026). This paper examined bandemia (elevated counts of band neutrophil cells) in dogs with lymphoma after exposure to three different drugs in a multi-agent chemotherapy protocol. This is currently my most refined, publicly available research compendium that uses HTML output. It contains the data, the Quarto scripts (with embedded R code) used to manage and analyze the data, plus the HTML output files showing all statistical results reported in the paper, plus additional analyses that were omitted due to space limits.

2 piercer

The piercer package is my personal package of miscellaneous functions for use in my research and statistical consulting work. It is not particularly large, but developing it has been an excellent learning experience.

3 SANETPA

The SANETPA package is my research compendium for a study examining attrition from a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) training program (Campbell et al., 2026). It contains the data, the Quarto scripts (with embedded R code) used to manage and analyze the data, plus the PDF output files showing all statistical results reported in the paper, plus additional analyses that were omitted due to space limits. The paper will probably be published in July or August 2026. This is currently my most refined, publicly available research compendium that uses PDF outputs.

4 SAWpaper

The SAWpaper package contains the code and raw output for one of my papers (Winke et al., 2023). This paper used a continuation-ratio model to examine the validity of a computer-adaptive self-assessment of second language learners’ speaking proficiency. The PDF files include all results reported in the paper, plus additional output that was omitted due to page limits.

5 SSACHR

This SSACHR package contains the code and raw output for a paper that used criminal history data for suspected serial sexual offenders to examine the potential impact of mandatory forensic testing of sexual assault kits on crime prevention (Campbell et al., 2022). The PDF files therein include all results reported in the paper, plus additional output that was omitted due to page limits.

6 References

Allaire, J. J., Dervieux, C., Scheidegger, C., Teague, C., & Xie, Y. (2026). Quarto (Version 1.8.27) [Computer Program]. Posit Software, PBC. https://quarto.org
Campbell, R., Pierce, S. J., Ashley, A., Markowitz, J., & Dontje, K. (2026). Predicting trainee attrition rates in a state-wide sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) didactic and clinical training program [Manuscript accepted for publication]. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing.
Campbell, R., Pierce, S. J., Goodman-Williams, R., & Feeney, H. (2022). A window of opportunity: Examining the potential impact of mandatory sexual assault kit (SAK) testing legislation on crime prevention. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 28(3), 446–458. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000349
Eliason, C. N., Pierce, S. J., & Masyr, A. (2026). Band neutrophils are observed in dogs undergoing multiagent chemotherapy including vincristine. Animals, 16(3), Article 434. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16030434
Marwick, B., Boettiger, C., & Mullen, L. (2018). Packaging data analytical work reproducibly using R (and friends). The American Statistician, 72(1), 80–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2017.1375986
Winke, P., Zhang, X., & Pierce, S. J. (2023). A closer look at a marginalized test method: Self-assessment as a measure of speaking proficiency. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45(2), 416–441. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263122000079