2.6 The R Community

We already mentioned that there is an active community of R users around the world, ranging from novice to expert level. Here is a partial list of venues where R users interact (aside from the official websites, none of these links should be considered an official endorsement):

  1. R Project: The official website for R.
  2. R Project Mailing Lists: Various email lists to stay informed on R related activities. The R-announce list is a good starting point, which will keep you updated on the latest releases of the R software.
  3. Twitter #rstats: Many R Users are active on Twitter and you can find them.
  4. Tidy Tuesday is a weekly online project that focuses on understanding how to summarize, arrange, and make meaningful charts with open source data. You can see the projects others have done by following #tidytuesday on twitter.
  5. R-Ladies is a global group dedicated to promoting gender equality in the R community. They have an elaborate list of resources for learning and host educational and networking events.
  6. R-Podcast: A periodic podcast with practical advice for using R, and the latest R news.
  7. R-Bloggers: A blog website where authors can post examples of code, data analysis, and visualization.

2.6.1 Places to Get Help (If you’re a student taking this class for credit)

Students taking the course for credit should seek help from these places, in order:

  • Canvas Discussion boards
  • Office Hours

I will not answer homework/quiz/textbook related questions via email.

2.6.2 Places to Get Help (anyone)

If you find yourself stuck, there are many options available to you, here are a few:

  1. Stack Overflow is a message board where users can post questions about issues they’re having. If you search for your error, there’s likely already an answered question about it. If not, you can submit one with a reproducible example that the active community can help you with.
  2. R Manuals: With so many R resources available on the internet, sometimes information gets “boiled down” or simplified for ease of communication. If you need the “official answer” to a question, these manuals are the place to go. Check out “An Introduction to R” for a good reference.