How to combine two columns of factors into one column without changing the factor levels into number [duplicate]

Answer 1

The data.table package, which extends the functionality of data frames in some very useful ways, will combine factors automatically when you use the rbindlist function. Plus, if your two data sets are large, it will usually combine them more quickly.

library(data.table)

# Example data:
# (If you already have data frames, you can convert them using `as.data.table(dataframename)`)
dataset1<-data.table(Number=1:2,Student=as.factor(c("Chris","Sarah")))
dataset2<-data.table(Number=1:2,Student=as.factor(c("Matt","Keith")))


# Combine the two data sets:
# (It's not necessary to convert factors to characters)
rbindlist(list(dataset1,dataset2))
#   Number Student
#1:      1   Chris
#2:      2   Sarah
#3:      1    Matt
#4:      2   Keith