Exchange Elements of Factor Vector in R (2 Examples)
In this tutorial you’ll learn how to replace certain elements or entire levels of a factor in the R programming language.
Example Data
my_fac <- factor(c("X", "AA", "BB", "Y", "X", "Y")) # Construct factor in R my_fac # Show factor in RStudio console # [1] X AA BB Y X Y # Levels: AA BB X Y |
my_fac <- factor(c("X", "AA", "BB", "Y", "X", "Y")) # Construct factor in R my_fac # Show factor in RStudio console # [1] X AA BB Y X Y # Levels: AA BB X Y
Example 1: Substitute Entire Factor Level
levels(my_fac)[levels(my_fac) == "X"] <- "FOO" # Exchanging entire factor level my_fac # Show updated factor # [1] FOO AA BB Y FOO Y # Levels: AA BB FOO Y |
levels(my_fac)[levels(my_fac) == "X"] <- "FOO" # Exchanging entire factor level my_fac # Show updated factor # [1] FOO AA BB Y FOO Y # Levels: AA BB FOO Y
Example 2: Substitute Specific Element of Factor
my_fac <- as.character(my_fac) # Converting factor to character my_fac[6] <- "BAR" # Replacing specific element of vector my_fac <- as.factor(my_fac) # Converting character to factor my_fac # Show updated factor # [1] FOO AA BB Y FOO BAR # Levels: AA BAR BB FOO Y |
my_fac <- as.character(my_fac) # Converting factor to character my_fac[6] <- "BAR" # Replacing specific element of vector my_fac <- as.factor(my_fac) # Converting character to factor my_fac # Show updated factor # [1] FOO AA BB Y FOO BAR # Levels: AA BAR BB FOO Y
Further Resources & Related Tutorials
Please find some additional R programming tutorials on topics such as vectors, extracting data, matrices, and missing data in the following list.