Getting to Know R

What is R?  R is a programming language that is commonly used for statistical analisis.  RStudio, is the open-source software for R that is widely in MSU's Statistics courses. Here are some basics to help you understand more.

• You need download and install both R and RStudio in order to use RStudio.
• Both are free and open source.
• Available for iMac, Windows, and Linux systems.
• Allow you to produce expert quality graphs and charts.
• Required for use in MSU's STAT216 & STAT217 courses.

To use R, first know that it is a suite or package of software that interact together to provide you with the best experience in statistical coding.  You will need to install the package, which comes in 3 parts.  You will need to install all 3 in the order provided here.  Follow these step or check out the MSU Installing R tutorial.

Installing R

• Free for everyone!
• This is the background system.  Install and then forget about it.
• Click here to install for all computer systems (iMac/Windows/etc).

Installing RStudio

• Free for all users
• R-Studio is the system that you will use for your course work.
• Click here to install.  Install the RStudio desktop version. 

Installing a code package

• Again, this is free!
• A code package gives you the initial codes you will be using in class. 
• The tidyverse R package has much of the code your Statistics courses will use.  Install this.
  • Open RStudio
  • At the command line, type:   install.packages("tidyverse")
  • Tap the "Enter" key.
  • R will connect to the internet, download the package, and show a message that states, "The downloaded binary packages are in". 

That's it!  You are now ready to go.