How to Split Column Into Multiple Columns in R DataFrame?

In this article, we will discuss how to split a column from a data frame into multiple columns in the R programming Language.

Method 1: Using str_split_fixed() function of stringr package library

To split a column into multiple columns in the R Language, We use the str_split_fixed() function of the stringr package library. The str_split_fixed() function splits up a string into a fixed number of pieces. The function takes string, the term separating the string and number of parts it has to be divided into as arguments and returns the splitted string.

Syntax:

str_split_fixed( sample_string, separator_pattern, n)

Parameter:

• sample_string: determines the input character vector.
• separator_pattern: determines the pattern to split up by, as defined by a POSIX regular expression.
• n: determines the number of part string has to be divided into.

Example: Split column into multiple columns

# create sample data frame
df <- data.frame(Name=c('Priyank Mishra', 'Abhiraj Srivastava',
                        'Pawananjani Kumar'),
                 State= c("Uttar Pradesh", "Maharashtra", "Bihar"))

print(" Data frame before splitting: ")
df

# load stringr library
library(stringr)

# Split name column into firstname and last name
df[c('First Name', 'Last Name')] <- str_split_fixed(df$Name, ' ', 2)

# Rearrange columns and remove original name column
df <- df[c('First Name', 'Last Name', 'State')]

print(" Data frame after splitting: ")
df

Output: 

Data frame before splitting: 
               Name         State
1     Priyank Mishra Uttar Pradesh
2 Abhiraj Srivastava   Maharashtra
3  Pawananjani Kumar         Bihar
 Data frame after splitting: 
  First Name  Last Name         State
1     Priyank     Mishra Uttar Pradesh
2     Abhiraj Srivastava   Maharashtra
3 Pawananjani      Kumar         Bihar

Method 2: Using separate() function of dplyr package library

To split a column into multiple columns in the R Language, we use the separator() function of the dplyr package library. The separate() function separates a character column into multiple columns with a regular expression or numeric locations. The function takes input character vector as an argument and the output column names in a vector as an argument and returns final data vector.

Syntax:

separate( sample_data, col )

Parameter:

• sample_data: determines the input data frame column.
• col: determines the final columns that it has to be separated.

Example: Split column into multiple columns

# create sample data frame
df <- data.frame(Name=c('Priyank Mishra', 'Abhiraj Srivastava',
                        'Pawananjani Kumar'),
                 State= c("Uttar Pradesh", "Maharashtra", "Bihar"))

print(" Data frame before splitting: ")
df

# load dplyr and tidyr library
library(dplyr)
library(tidyr)

# Split name column into firstname and last name
df <- df %>% separate(Name, c('First Name', 'Last Name'))

print(" Data frame after splitting: ")
df

Output:

Data frame before splitting:
              Name         State
1     Priyank Mishra Uttar Pradesh
2 Abhiraj Srivastava   Maharashtra
3  Pawananjani Kumar         Bihar
Data frame after splitting:
 First Name  Last Name         State
1     Priyank     Mishra Uttar Pradesh
2     Abhiraj Srivastava   Maharashtra
3 Pawananjani      Kumar         Bihar