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Based on their extensive experience with teaching R and statistics to applied scientists, the authors provide a beginner's guide to R. To avoid the difficulty of teaching R and statistics at the same time, statistical methods are kept to a minimum. The text covers how to download and install R, import and manage data, elementary plotting, an introduction to functions, advanced plotting, and common beginner mistakes. A Beginner's Guide to R contains everything you need to know to get started with R.
- Introduction
- Getting data into R
- Accessing variables and managing subsets of data
- Simple commands
- An introduction to basic plotting tools
- Loops and functions
- Graphing tools
- An introduction to lattice package
- Common R mistakes
Alain F. Zuur is senior statistician and director of Highland Statistics Ltd., a statistical consultancy company based in the UK. He has taught statistics to more than 5000 ecologists. He is honorary research fellow in the School of Biological Sciences, Oceanlab, at the University of Aberdeen, UK.
Elena N. Ieno is senior marine biologist and co-director at Highland Statistics Ltd. She has been involved in guiding PhD students on the design and analysis of ecological data. She is honorary research fellow in the School of Biological Sciences, Oceanlab, at the University of Aberdeen, UK.
Erik H.W.G. Meesters is a researcher at the Dutch Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES). He specializes in coral reef ecology and applied statistics and conducts research on North Sea benthos and seal ecology.
"A Beginner's Guide to R is just what its title implies, a quick-start guide for the newest R users. A unique feature of this welcome addition to Springer's Use R! series is that it is devoted solely to getting the user up and running on R. Unlike other texts geared towards R beginners, [...] this text does not make the mistake of trying to simultaneously teach statistics. [...] there are straightforward homework exercises provided throughout [...] , and the data sets can be downloaded from the authors' website [...] A Beginner's Guide to R is an essential resource for the R novice, whether an undergraduate learning statistics for the first time or a seasoned statistician biting the bullet and making the switch to R."
- The R Journal Vol. 2/1, June 2010
"[...] most suitable for an advanced beginner or a user who needs an introduction to a wide variety of graphical methods. Overall, the book does most things quite well. It shows the beginner how to install R, how to load data into R, how to perform some subsetting operations including the sorting of data and most of all how to plot data using a variety of methods. Throughout, all methods and code are will illustrated and can be easily replicated by anyone using the book. [...] I learned quite a number of things about R that I did not previously know. Consequently, I would recommend the book not only for the students who need to learn R, but for professionals who need to enhance their basic working knowledge of R."
- Math Geosci 2010, 42: 133 – 137
"The book has many admirable features. It introduces key commands in easy stages. Each chapter has a number of illustrative examples, lucidly explained, and ends with a review of what has been covered. Chapters also contain exercises at the end that reinforce the examples provided. [...] useful work for self-study or for an introductory course, allowing readers to apply their knowledge of the language to begin learning how to use R for statistical analysis or other purposes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of readership."
- R. Bharath, Choice, Vol. 47 (11), July, 2010
"This book explains how to create datasets, variables, functions and plots using R. It is not a simple book though. [...] somewhat dense and covers each topic thoroughly. [...] best to follow every example. [...] I found this book to be well written for its intended audience and purpose. I had no difficulty reading it or following the examples. [...] This approach will give you a good foundation for using R in your own work and advancing to other books about specific analyses and procedures."
- Mark Bailey, Technometrics, Vol. 53 (1), February, 2011
"This book has a very clear objective. [...] this is a popular book about the R statistical software. [...] The book is true to its goal of being a text for the absolute beginner with easy to follow explanations, examples to program, and exercises to build skill. The reader who takes advantages of the available data files and R text editors will find this to be a very instructive book. It will definitely increase your desire to learn and use R in the future."
- Brandon Alleman, The American Statistician, May, 2011
