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Intro to RStudio

What is R?

R is a programming language focused mainly on statistics computing and creating graphics. This software is useful for analyzing sets of data, constructing representations of data, and modelling statistics.

 

Why R?

  • IT’S FREE: Anyone can use it, and it’s especially popular among college students and professors studying statistics. Even employers use R - it’s the highest paid technical skill to have (http://www.econometricsbysimulation.com/2014/03/why-use-r-five-reasons.html).

  • IT’S FLEXIBLE: Stats-wise, the language R can do basically anything you want it to do. Nearly all the data analysis tools you’ll need are built right into the language, and it’s easy to adapt your code to extract the exact information you’re looking for.

  • IT’S POPULAR: R has become one of the most commonly used computing languages in the statistics community, so it’s always up to date with the latest stats and analysis methods. This also means that there are tons of blogs and websites (including this one) that can help you learn new skills and solve any issues you might have.

  • IT’S POWERFUL: Since R has so many users, as a language it has been highly developed and is very well supported. It can easily handle huge amounts of data and complex simulations.

 

Getting Started with R

 

 

LAYOUT OF R

 

R has different areas/boxes designated for different functions

 

Console

  • Space for running code

  • Can’t edit code once it’s been run, but good space for easy functions that you don’t need to double check

Source

  • Convenient space to write code that you would want to edit

  • More complex code

  • Code here can be saved

  • Tabs for keeping track of your separate code, can save your code to return to later

Environment/History

  • Environment: keeps track of the variables you have already defined

    • Here you can also import any datasets that you want to use in R by uploading them either from a file on your computer or from the web

  • History: List of all the functions you’ve run

Files/Plots/Packages/Help/Viewer

  • Files: List of files on your computer

  • Plots: Graphics you’ve created

    • Export: can export images either by saving them on your computer or by clicking “copy to clipboard” to copy paste it

    • Clear all: clears all graphics/plots in this history

  • Packages: List of any packages you’ve added to your RStudio

  • Help: Can search for any function you’d like more information on

 

Personalizing Your RStudio

You can change the way your RStudio works by selecting:

 

Tools > Global Options > Appearance

  • Editor font changes the font that RStudio appears in

  • Editor theme changes the color of the boxes where you type your code in (Source and Console)

 

You can also easily adjust which boxes are showing and which boxes are larger or smaller in your Rstudio by minimizing or maximizing each box.

 

Basics Operations of R

 

Code

Description

?function OR

help(function)

Gives information on any unknown function or dataset

summary(x)

Gives a statistical summary of any dataset “x”

1+2

7-5

8*4

36/12

Simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

2^3

Exponents

sqrt(16)

Square root

exp(2)

e2

pi

Pi: 3.14159…

NOTE: NaN means not a number