Read writing samples from a data frame

This function extracts ID and text columns from a data frame and enforces that IDs are unique. By default, it assumes the first column is the ID and the second column is the text.

Usage

read_samples_df(df, id_col = 1, text_col = 2)

Arguments

df

A data frame or tibble containing at least two columns.

id_col

Column specifying the IDs. Can be a column name (string) or a column index (integer). Defaults to 1.

text_col

Column specifying the writing samples (character). Can be a column name or index. Defaults to 2.

Value

A tibble with columns:

• ID: character ID for each sample

• text: character string of the writing sample

Any remaining columns in df are retained unchanged.

Details

Use one row per writing sample and keep IDs stable across collection and analysis. Map spreadsheet column names with id_col and text_col. For a CSV, first use read.csv("writing.csv", colClasses = "character") to preserve identifiers such as "001". Inspect blank/missing IDs and texts yourself; this reader checks duplicates, not all data-quality problems. See the getting started guide for a complete example.

See also

read_samples_dir(), make_pairs()

Other pairing and data: alternate_pair_order(), make_pairs(), randomize_pair_order(), read_samples_dir(), sample_pairs(), sample_reverse_pairs()

Examples

df <- data.frame(
  StudentID = c("S1", "S2"),
  Response = c("This is sample 1.", "This is sample 2."),
  Grade = c(8, 9),
  stringsAsFactors = FALSE
)

samples <- read_samples_df(df, id_col = "StudentID", text_col = "Response")
samples
#> # A tibble: 2 × 3
#>   ID    text              Grade
#>   <chr> <chr>             <dbl>
#> 1 S1    This is sample 1.     8
#> 2 S2    This is sample 2.     9

# Using the built-in example dataset
data("example_writing_samples")
samples2 <- read_samples_df(
  example_writing_samples[, c("ID", "text")],
  id_col   = "ID",
  text_col = "text"
)
head(samples2)
#> # A tibble: 6 × 2
#>   ID    text                                                                    
#>   <chr> <chr>                                                                   
#> 1 S01   "Writing assessment is hard. People write different things. It is\n    …
#> 2 S02   "It is hard to grade writing. Some are long and some are short. I do no…
#> 3 S03   "Assessing writing is difficult because everyone writes differently and…
#> 4 S04   "Grading essays is tough work. You have to read a lot. Sometimes the\n …
#> 5 S05   "Writing assessment is challenging because teachers must judge ideas,\n…
#> 6 S06   "It is difficult to assess writing because it is subjective. One teache…