Welcome!

This is the class website. Here you will find posted resources for each lesson.

Installing R and RStudio

Before we can get started we need to install two different software programs, R and RStudio. The software is 100% free.

Start by installing R:

  • Go to cran.r-project.org
    • Windows users click Download R for Windows and on the next page install R for the first time and finally Download R -4.3.1 for Windows.
    • Mac users click Download R for macOS and on the next page pick the version matching the OS version you are using (for most users R-4.3.1-x86_64.pkg will be the right choice, unless you are working on a fancy new M1 or M2 mac in which case pick R-4.3.1-arm64.pkg instead).

Next we will install RStudio:

  • Go to the posit.co download page.
  • Scroll down until you see a blue rectangle (to the right under the header 2: Install RStudio) with the text DOWNLOAD RSTUDIO DESKTOP FOR X where X is the OS of the machine you are using. Click to download.
  • Alternatively, scroll down a bit more and find the right version of RStudio for your OS under the header All Installers.

Installing the tidyverse

The tidyverse is a suite of packages that will allow us to use some of the most common data science tools used in R and RStudio. The tidyverse doesn’t come built-in with R, so you’ll need to install it by doing the following:

  • Open up RStudio
  • Copy and paste the following into the Console pane of RStudio (see the image below as a reference): install.packages("tidyverse")


  • Press the Enter key to run this line of code
  • When you’ve installed the package successfully, the console will fill up with some code that you don’t have to worry about trying to read. It’s just R confirming that the tidyverse is now downloaded.


Now you’re all set for the first session!