LibGuides: Python and R: Programming Languages : R/RStudio

How to Install R, RStudio and Packages

R is free to download and use. To do so, simply go to r-project.org and select "download" using the 0-Cloud mirror (or whatever mirror is most appropriate for your area). The default configuration is fine.

You will want to use RStudio with R - it is an interface that makes it easier to work in R, including by making commands consistent across operating systems and much more. The Open Source Edition is free to use and all you should need for getting started.

If you would prefer not to install R and RStudio on your computer, affiliates with WSU also have the option to use this through our High Performance Computing (HPC) system, BeoShock. RStudio is one of the tools available through its OnDemand platform.

There are many packages available to extend R functionality, some built-in upon installation and others accessible from the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN). You will find some linked directly below.

Packages for Use with R

Pacman
This is a powerful package manager for R, making it easier to install and load additional packages. The files can be downloaded from the linked GitHub site by selecting the latest version in either .zip or tar.gz.
Tidyverse
The tidyverse is a set of packages that work in harmony because they share common data representations and API design. The tidyverse package is designed to make it easy to install and load core packages from the tidyverse in a single command, including ggplot2 (for data visualization); dplyr (for data manipulation); tidyr (for data tidying); and stringr (for string manipulation). These packages can be installed in RStudio by running the following command within the application: install.packages("tidyverse")
Anaconda
Anaconda® Distribution is a Python/R data science distribution that contains conda, a package and environment manager, which helps users manage a collection of over 7,500+ open-source packages available to them. Anaconda is free and easy to install, and it offers free community support.

Getting Started in R

A Beginner's Guide to R Programming
ISBN: 9781789614619
Publication Date: 2018
About This Video: The course has been designed for newbies as well as intermediate programmers who want to go back to the basics and want to refresh their knowledge regarding the core concepts of the R programming language. The course will cover in-depth topics such as getting started with R, the look and feel of R, installing R, downloading and working with variables and packages, working with data sets, creating charts and statistics, working with data including how to analyze the data, charts, and statistics for the association.
Hands-On Programming with R by Garrett Grolemund
Publication Date: 2014
This book covers how to program in R, with hands-on examples. It is written for non-programmers to provide a friendly introduction to the R language. You’ll learn how to load data, assemble and disassemble data objects, navigate R’s environment system, write your own functions, and use all of R’s programming tools. Throughout the book, you’ll use your newfound skills to solve practical data science problems.
R for Data Science : Import, Tidy, Transform, Visualize, and Model Data by Hadley Wickham and Garrett Grolemund
ISBN: 9781491910368
Publication Date: 2017
This book will teach you how to do data science with R: You’ll learn how to get your data into R, get it into the most useful structure, transform it, visualize it and model it. In this book, you will find a practicum of skills for data science.

R Tutorials and Lessons

R Tutorial for Non-Programmer Data Scientists
This course walks through the foundations of using R, from installing software to more advanced concepts like working with data frames and writing functions.