I’ve been using a series of web sites while I was starting the process of learning R. I’ve highlighted several of these in previous posts. While people will claim to learn better based on a single source-type, studies have found that you actually learn best by a multitude of methods. So, in addition to video instruction, web sites, guides, etc., I’m also going to read a few books to help learn R.
After a lot of research, I’ve arrived at two that I’m starting with. The first is R In Action. I’m already on the 2nd chapter and I’m enjoying the style and approach. The other book is Using R for Introductory Statistics. I’m using this book because as I have already picked up, the real trick to learning R is not figuring out the syntax and methodology, but rather understanding the math and the data in support of that math. This book seems to cover those aspects better than the R In Action book.
I’ll post actual reviews of these books when I’m done with them. In the mean time I hope my explorations are proving a little bit useful to those who are starting down the path.
I look forward to your reviews of both the books. Learning some R is on my list of things to do this next year.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Machine Learning with R”, but it’s about Machine Learning primarily, R as a secondary focus.
Still, I’d say it’s well worth reading.
Lots of stats and R books here – some free, some not… http://www.r-statistics.com/2009/10/free-statistics-e-books-for-download/
Lance, Thanks. I’m working on them. Based on the R in Action book, I’m probably going to have to read more than half of it, then switch over and read the other, then switch back. The reviews are a few weeks out yet.
Gail, Thanks. I was looking at that one. I might add it to the list later.
Buck! You da’ man, as always. Thanks.
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2497464/business-intelligence/business-intelligence-60-r-resources-to-improve-your-data-skills.html
https://www.coursera.org/learn/r-programming
R definitely seems to be gaining traction. I will probably be needing it for my new job, so it’s on my list of skills to hone up on for 2016. I have ‘Statistics: An Introduction Using R’ by Michael Crawley on order. Like many others, I suspect that the challenge to learning this will be picking up the underlying maths rather than learning a new programming language.
Great timing. Looks like R is the path to follow. I just started a Coursera course on learning R.
Thank you for sharing.
Michael
Lots of good R tutorials at flowingdata.com: http://flowingdata.com/category/tutorials/
[…] is just a quick update. I wrote about the two books I’m using to learn R. Well, I’m extremely happy with my choices, especially with the […]