You can use the following basic syntax to add one or more empty columns to a data frame in R:
#add one empty column called 'column1' to data frame df[ , 'column1'] <- NA #add several empty columns to data frame empty_cols <- c('column1', 'column2', 'column3') df[ , empty_cols] <- NA
The following examples show how to use this syntax in practice.
Example 1: Add One Empty Column to Data Frame
The following code shows how to add one empty column to a data frame in R:
#create data frame
df <- data.frame(team=c('Mavs', 'Mavs', 'Spurs', 'Nets'),
points=c(99, 90, 84, 96),
assists=c(22, 19, 16, 20))
#view data frame
df
team points assists
1 Mavs 99 22
2 Mavs 90 19
3 Spurs 84 16
4 Nets 96 20
#add new empty column
df[ , 'blocks'] <- NA
#view updated data frame
df
team points assists blocks
1 Mavs 99 22 NA
2 Mavs 90 19 NA
3 Spurs 84 16 NA
4 Nets 96 20 NA
Example 2: Add Multiple Empty Columns to Data Frame
The following code shows how to add multiple empty columns to a data frame in R:
#create data frame
df <- data.frame(team=c('Mavs', 'Mavs', 'Spurs', 'Nets'),
points=c(99, 90, 84, 96),
assists=c(22, 19, 16, 20))
#view data frame
df
team points assists
1 Mavs 99 22
2 Mavs 90 19
3 Spurs 84 16
4 Nets 96 20
#define names of empty columns to add
empty_cols <- c('blocks', 'rebounds', 'steals')
#add multiple empty columns
df[ , empty_cols] <- NA
#view updated data frame
df
team points assists blocks rebounds steals
1 Mavs 99 22 NA NA NA
2 Mavs 90 19 NA NA NA
3 Spurs 84 16 NA NA NA
4 Nets 96 20 NA NA NA
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to create other empty objects in R:
How to Create an Empty Data Frame in R
How to Create an Empty Matrix in R
How to Create an Empty Vector in R
How to Create an Empty List in R (With Examples)