Published

April 23, 2024

  1. Install or update R on the computer you will use during the workshop (https://cran.r-project.org). I assume that you already have it installed, but try to update it if you have a R version < 4.0.0. You can find which R version you have by running this in the R console:
Code 
version$version.string
  1. Update all R packages if you already had R installed (⚠️ this step can take a long time to run ⚠️):
Code 
update.packages(ask = FALSE)

  1. Install or update the RStudio interface (https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/, choose the free version). Optional but advised.

  2. Make a folder called “OTS_REU_OS_2024”, this will be your working directory for the workshop (where you will keep all the stuff from this workshop).

  3. Open RStudio and select the tab “Tools” then “Global Options” (last option). Select the “Code” option, then select the box for “Soft-wrap R source files”.

  4. Also in RStudio: Select the “Pane Layout” option and move “Source” to the top left pane and “Console” to the top right pane. For those of you unfamiliar with RStudio, the source is your script, where you save code in a physical file (usually .R script) and the console prints the output of the code you run from the source. You can write code in the console, but it will not be saved in a physical file. This layout allocates more screen space to the most useful panes. Hit “Apply” and “Ok”.

  5. Also in RStudio: Go back up to the “File” tab and select “New Project”, then select the “OTS_REU_OS_2024” directory.

  6. Now in the R console in RStudio: Run the following code to install some R packages (remove the packages first if you have them installed already).

Code 
# install package to install packages
install.packages("sketchy") 

# load sketchy
library(sketchy)

# install packages
load_packages(
  packages = c(
    "rgbif",
    "rmarkdown",
    "packrat",
    "knitr",
    "cowsay",
    "kableExtra",
    "rmdformats",
    "revealjs",
    "rticles",
    "tufte",
    "ggplot2",
    "viridis",
    "taxize",
    github = "hadley/emo",
    github = "benmarwick/rrtools",
    github = "CrumpLab/vertical",
    github = "crsh/papaja"
  )
)

  1. Install git (https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git)

  2. Create a github account (https://github.com/signup)

  3. Install Github Desktop (https://docs.github.com/en/desktop/installing-and-authenticating-to-github-desktop/installing-github-desktop)

  4. On Github Desktop log in into your github account using github

  5. Register yourself in Rpubs (https://rpubs.com/)

A few tips to make sure you will take full advantage of the workshop:

  • Ideally, read the materials ahead of time (I know! it’s time consuming)
  • Make sure you have anything you need before the start of the class
  • Be ready a few minutes before the start of the class
  • Try to focus as much as possible in the workshop, close other programs or unnecessary internet browser tabs (i.e. instagram, twitter, etc). This will also make the computer more efficient (less likely to get slow)
  • Comment your code