Using ARDs: Options
An Analysis Results Dataset (ARD) has multiple uses. Consisting of machine-readable results (as opposed to static RTF or PDF results), examples of ARD use cases are:
- QC datasets
- re-using results for different outputs, e.g. figures or tables
- re-using results for various reporting events
- creating final TFLs
(The Concepts and conventions vignette discusses why an ARD makes these use cases easier.)
For rendering, each ARD row already carries a display-ready result:
the disp column holds the raw statistic (res)
formatted according to the ARS resultPattern for its
operation (e.g. (N=86), 75.2,
( 12.5)), so values can be placed directly into an RTF/PDF
table without re-deriving decimal places or percentage scaling. See the
ARD script structure vignette
for how these columns are built.
Downstream R packages for table creation
Two reputable R packages, part of the pharmaverse have an ARD-first approach to creating tables:
Below are presentations delivered at posit::conf 2025 on these packages: