How to access data frames in list by name - r

Question

I'm pulling large sets of data for multiple sites and views from Google Analytics for processing in R. To streamline the process, I've added my most common queries to a function (so I only have to pass the profile ID and date range). Each query is stored as a local variable in the function, and is assigned to a dynamically-named global variable:
R version 3.1.1
library(rga)
library(stargazer)
# I would add a dataset, but my data is locked down by client agreements and I don't currently have any test sites configured.
profiles <- ga$getProfiles()
website1 <- profiles[1,]
start <- "2013-01-01"
end <- "2013-12-31"
# profiles are objects containing all the ID's, accounts #, etc.; start and end specify date range as strings (e.g. "2014-01-01")
reporting <- function(profile, start, end){
id <- profile[,1] #sets profile number from profile object
#rga function for building and submitting query to API
general <- ga$getData(id,
start.date = start,
end.date = end,
metrics = "ga:sessions")
... #additional queries, structured similarly to example above(e.g. countries, cities, etc.)
#transforms name of profile object to string
profileName <- deparse(substitute(profile))
#appends "Data" to profile object name
temp <- paste(profileName, "Data", sep="")
#stores query results as list
temp2 <- list(general,countries,cities,devices,sources,keywords,pages,events)
#assigns list of query results and stores it globally
assign(temp, temp2, envir=.GlobalEnv)
}
#call reporting function at head of report or relevant section
reporting(website1,start,end)
#returns list of data frames returned by the ga$getData(...), but within the list they are named "data.frame" instead of their original query name.
#generate simple summary table with stargazer package for display within the report
stargazer(website1[1])
I'm able to access these results through *website1*Data[1], but I'm handing the data off to collaborators. Ideally, they should be able to access the data by name (e.g. *website1*Data$countries).
Is there an easier/better way to store these results, and to make accessing them easier from within an .Rmd report?

Answer 1

There's no real reason to do the deparse in side the function just to assign a variable in the parent environment. If you have to call the reporting() function, just have that function return a value and assign the results
reporting <- function(profile, start, end){
#... all the other code
#return results
list(general=general,countries=countries,cities=cities,
devices=devices,sources=sources,keywords=keywords,
pages=pages,events=events)
}
#store results
websiteResults <- reporting(website1,start,end)