Using R and Python
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- Using R and Python
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This libguide covers resources for learning and using R and Python.
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We are here to help you find, use, manage, visualize and share your data. Contact us to schedule a consultation. View and register for upcoming workshops. Visit our website to learn more about our services.
Download and Install R
Option 1: Install R in a personal computer:
You will need to install both R and RStudio in order to use RStudio. RStudio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for R and is more user-friendly for beginners.
- Downloading and Installing R - https://cran.r-project.org/
- Downloading and Installing RStudio - https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/ (Download “RStudio Desktop”, not “RStudio Server”)
- A detailed tutorial about how about install R and RStudio.
Option 2: Use RStudio online (RStudio Cloud):
You don't need to install R or RStudio in your computer. Go to RStudio Cloud and register a free account. You can also share your RStudio projects with others.
Update R and RStudio
It is always a good idea to keep your R and RStudio versions up-to-date. Here are some instructions on how to update R and RStudio:
- Reproducible Medical Research with R by Peter D.R. Higgins: Chapter 14 Updating R, RStudio, and Your Packages
- R-blogger: How to install (and update!) R and RStudio
How to Find Help?
Troubleshooting:
- Troubleshoot in R by shelloren on RPubs, January 10, 2019: Some common errors and troubleshooting tips for beginners
- Troubleshooting and how to find help by Gergana on Coding Club, November 15, 2016: A tutorial to show people how to spot errors, get familiar with common errors and how to get help. In the end, there are some practices to test your knowledge.
Online forums:
- Stack Overflow: A platform for people to ask technical questions and find answers to them. Questions on this forum are not limited to R.
- RStudio Community: A Q&A forum for R users to ask R- or RStudio-related questions.
- Bioconductor Support: Bioconductor provides software written in R to analyze high-throughput genomic data and this forum provides support for its users.
- Cross Validated: A Q& A forum for questions related to statistics, machine learning, data analysis, data visualization and data mining. Questions on this forum are not limited to R.
Statistical consulting services at JHU:
- Biostatistics Center at School of Public Health: Provide statistics support to JHU faculty, staff and SPH graduate students. They have walk-in biostatistics consultations available online for several popular statistical software, such as R, SAS and STATA.
- Biostatistics, Epidemiology And Data management (BEAD) core: Provides statistics and data management support for JHU faculty. Sign up with their online intake form to start the process.
- Statistics support for Social Sciences and Behavioral Data by Bryce Corrigan, SNF Agora Institute at JHU. You can schedule an appointment with him using this form.