Recently, dplyr package added a pull() function which behaves similar to select(), but can return a vector without further processing.
Working example:
# Loading mtcar dataset
head(mtcars)
## mpg cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am gear carb
## Mazda RX4 21.0 6 160 110 3.90 2.620 16.46 0 1 4 4
## Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0 6 160 110 3.90 2.875 17.02 0 1 4 4
## Datsun 710 22.8 4 108 93 3.85 2.320 18.61 1 1 4 1
## Hornet 4 Drive 21.4 6 258 110 3.08 3.215 19.44 1 0 3 1
## Hornet Sportabout 18.7 8 360 175 3.15 3.440 17.02 0 0 3 2
## Valiant 18.1 6 225 105 2.76 3.460 20.22 1 0 3 1
# Get the values from column 'mpg' as a vector using select
mtcars %>% select(mpg)
## mpg
## Mazda RX4 21.0
## Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0
## Datsun 710 22.8
## Hornet 4 Drive 21.4
## Hornet Sportabout 18.7
## Valiant 18.1
## Duster 360 14.3
## Merc 240D 24.4
## Merc 230 22.8
## Merc 280 19.2
## Merc 280C 17.8
## Merc 450SE 16.4
## Merc 450SL 17.3
## Merc 450SLC 15.2
## Cadillac Fleetwood 10.4
## Lincoln Continental 10.4
## Chrysler Imperial 14.7
## Fiat 128 32.4
## Honda Civic 30.4
## Toyota Corolla 33.9
## Toyota Corona 21.5
## Dodge Challenger 15.5
## AMC Javelin 15.2
## Camaro Z28 13.3
## Pontiac Firebird 19.2
## Fiat X1-9 27.3
## Porsche 914-2 26.0
## Lotus Europa 30.4
## Ford Pantera L 15.8
## Ferrari Dino 19.7
## Maserati Bora 15.0
## Volvo 142E 21.4
# Pull the values from column 'mpg' as a vector
mtcars %>% pull(mpg)
## [1] 21.0 21.0 22.8 21.4 18.7 18.1 14.3 24.4 22.8 19.2 17.8 16.4 17.3 15.2 10.4
## [16] 10.4 14.7 32.4 30.4 33.9 21.5 15.5 15.2 13.3 19.2 27.3 26.0 30.4 15.8 19.7
## [31] 15.0 21.4