Check data structure and print inferred hierarchy

A diagnostic helper function to run before starting the diegr analysis. It infers the experimental hierarchy based on the standardized column names strictly required by the package and prints a readable summary. Supports data frames, tibbles, and database tables.

Usage

check_structure(data, value_col = "signal")

Arguments

data: A data frame, tibble, or database table containing the EEG data in long format.
value_col: Character string specifying the signal amplitude column name (default "signal").

Value

The original data object invisibly, allowing it to be used in pipes.

Details

The diegr package does not strictly require all structural columns for every function (e.g., group, condition, and epoch may be optional). However, if they are present, they must follow the exact naming convention (group, subject, sensor, epoch, condition, time). Only the signal amplitude column can be custom-named via the value_col argument. This function helps verify which columns were correctly recognized.

Examples

# Checking the structure of epochdata
check_structure(epochdata)
#> ------------------------------------------------------- 
#>  diegr: Inferred Data Structure
#> ------------------------------------------------------- 
#>  |-- Groups:      Not found (optional)
#>  |-- Subjects:    2 found
#>  |-- Conditions:  Not found (optional)
#>  |-- Epochs:      15 found
#>  |-- Sensors:     204 found
#>  |-- Timepoints:  50  [Indices:  1  to  50 ]
#>  |-- Signal:      Present ('signal' column)
#> -------------------------------------------------------