Welcome to r4stats.com. This site’s mission is to analyze the world of data science, help people learn to use R and review graphical user interfaces that make R easier to use. R is free, open-source software for data science that is similar to the “big three” commercial packages: SAS, SPSS, and Stata.
In the menus under Articles, you’ll find a set of detailed reviews of all the point-and-click front ends that make R easy to use (most make it look very similar to the SPSS user interface). A comparison of them all is here.
There you’ll also find a detailed analysis of data science software popularity; a list of add-on products for SAS and SPSS as well as the R packages that do similar things; the many ways to call R from other software; and a few other articles.
Shorter commentary is listed under Blog. An extensive set of programs showing how to do the same tasks in R, SAS, SPSS, and Stata are listed under Examples. You’ll find information about my books, R for SAS and SPSS Users and R for Stata Users, under Books. Information about my book with Bob Hoyt et al., Introduction to Biomedical Data Science, is on a different website (the link will take you there). My reviews of other books are listed under Miscellaneous.
In the Books section, you’ll see descriptions of the various books I have written and files that relate to them to download. The Examples section shows many of the demonstrations I present in those books.
Finally, under Workshops, you can learn about the training I have offered in partnership with the American Statistical Association, DataCamp.com, RStudio, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, and Xerox Learning Services.
I welcome comments or suggestions regarding this site or data science in general, so feel free to contact me at muenchen.bob@gmail.com or on Twitter @BobMuenchen.
Hi, I am a student studying statistics in KU Leuven in Belgium. Recently my professor referred this website at class. And I find it is really helpful for my study. I am looking forward to more research and articles in your website!
Yang Zhenkai
Hi Yang Zhenkai,
I’m glad you found it useful!
Cheers, Bob
Hi Edwina,
Thanks, it’s just fascinating to watch the battle for dominance among these packages.
Cheers,
Bob
Hi Bob, I’m a graduate student at American University. I am writing about stat packages for an independent study. I would love your input/just to share it with you, because I use your blog as a source.
Hi Sai M,
I’d be happy to help. You can reach me at muenchen.bob@gmail.com.
Cheers,
Bob
I stumbled across this website and found the topics on this website very relevant to the current Analytics Trends. I am interested in understanding the connectivity between R & Hadoop framework like Hive, Pig as well as Spotfire. I wonder if you would recommend any API’s for this purpose.
Hi Tushar,
Sorry, but I haven’t had a chance to fiddle with those yet.
Cheers,
Bob
Hi Bob:
Long time SAS user who is looking to expand the tool box. Recently picked up your book and have been really enjoying the process. Just wanted to say thanks for writing the book and I can’t wait until I get to start digging into, modeling and displaying some of our corporate data.
Best Regards,
Kevin Morgan
Hi Kevin,
I hope you enjoy the book. Don’t forget to download the files from the Downloads menu above. The Corrections & Clarifications file is especially important as a few things in R and ggplot2 have changed and those changes are documented there. If you think of things you’d like to see in the next edition (at least a year away) please let me know!
Cheers,
Bob
Hi Bob,
I dont have a background in data analytics, Can I dive into the world of R or do I still need to do some refresher course.
Thanks
Hi Moshood,
You can learn R as a programming language, but if you want to get into analytics, it would be good to get a book that introduces both at the same time. “Introductory Statistics with R” by Dalgaard is a good choice.
Cheers,
Bob
Cheers,
Bob
Hi Bob,
I like the Examples section where you have showed data wrangling operations with implementations in multiple languages. Can you suggest a python blog on similar lines ?
Hi Ankit,
Sorry but I don’t know of one.
Cheers,
Bob
For French speaking users “Comprendre et réaliser les tests statistiques à l’aide de R” by Gaël Millot is a great introductory course for both statistics and the use of R. Martin
Merci Martin!
Hi Bob, I am reading your “R for stata users”. Thank you for writing such a useful and interesting handbook. Do you plan to write a second (or revised) edition to follow the development of R and stata? I would be happy to buy it!
Hi Kevin,
Sorry for the slow reply, I’ve been out of town. I’m planning a new edition, but it’s probably two years away. The R side will benefit greatly from the tidyverse packages. If you have ideas, please send them my way & I’ll acknowledge you in the preface.
Cheers,
Bob
As a SAS and SPSS user who’s exploring a shift to R, this is GREAT. Looking forward to the full text.
Best,
Colin
Oakland, California
Hi Colin,
I’m glad you’re enjoying my web site!
Cheers,
Bob
I loved your article on why it is hard to learn R. It really gives a good perspective and makes the learning process much more conscious! Thanks.
Hi Ahu,
I’m glad you found it useful!
Cheers,
Bob
Hi, I’m Sharief Ahmed from Jammu and Kashmir, India. I found clue of this portal from a book and i found it highly useful in learning R
Hi Sharief,
I’m glad you found my site helpful. You are the first person I’ve spoken to from Jammu and Kashmir. The pictures I’ve seen of the area are very beautiful! I hope its future is peaceful.
Best regards,
Bob
Thank you for this useful resource. I am also author and admin of https://rfaqs.com is R language site. It contains r frequently asked questions, multiple choice questions and class lecture notes to understand both statistics and R language. https://itfeature.com is statistics related website.