Using the right tools for the job is critical for success in any endeavour. In scientific research, specifically with scientific analysis, R is widely used by researchers from diverse disciplines and by teachers of statistics and research methods. One of the most powerful characteristics of R is that it is open-source, meaning anyone can access the underlying code used to run the program and add their own code for free. Along with R, other tools facilitate/potentiate the benefits of using R.
In this session, we will introduce a basic set of tools that maximises the effectiveness of R for scientific research. Students will be given a basic introduction to R, RStudio, and to git and GitHub. The students will also be guided and facilitated in installing and setting up each of these tools in the way that is considered best practice for scientific research purposes.
Further Reading
Grolemund G. (2014). Installing R and RStudio. In Hands-on programming with R : write your own functions and simulations. online
Bryan J. and Hester J. Installing git and creating a GitHub account. In Happy Git and GitHub for the useR online
R-Ladies Sydney. BasicBasics1: An opinionated tour of RStudio. online
Teaching Material
Slides can be viewed here.
PDF version of slides can be downloaded here.
R scripts for slides available here.