18 Free Tutorials for Learning R Programming

R is a powerful tool for data scientists and statisticians. The capabilities of R are being further developed daily by the proactive user base at the Comprehensive R Archive Network. The applications of R are becoming greater as the number of add-on packages increases.  Learning the basics of R now will unlock the door to a very useful tool for presenting and analyzing data. Here are some free resources for learning R programing.

1. Quick R – Quick R is a great reference site for learning all the fundamentals of R. The site provides a straight and simple introduction into R and its applications in statistics and graphing. This includes articles explaining the architecture of the software.
2. R Tutorial an R Introduction to Stats -This site contains tutorials for learning the basics of R programming. It also has lessons explaining how to compute elementary to more complex statistics using R.
3. An Intro to R from CRAN – A heavyweight 100+ page manual for those serious about learning the foundations of R. This is straight from the R Project, the community that created, maintains, and updates R.
4. Cookbook for R – This website has everything from the basics of R coding syntax to debugging scripts. Inquisitive beginners will find concise coding examples and descriptions without any fluff to confuse. This acts as a great reference for all those getting acclimated to the ins and outs of R.
5. The Art of R Programming – This PDF is an early draft of the book The Art of R Programming. It is a lengthy(~200 pages) introduction to R for those with programming experience. The lessons within are designed to be completed in Terminal rather than in the R console.
6. R Video Tutorials – Google developers published this 21-part series for those looking to learn R from the ground up. The videos range from two to five minutes each and provide a brisk walk-through of the foundations of R.
7. Introduction to R Programming – A comprehensive 40-part series of using R for statistical computation and visualization. This is a much deeper dive than the series provided by Google with videos between five and ten minutes long.

1. Visualizing Google Analytics Data with R – This tutorial explains how to visualize Google analytics data using R. No experience of R is necessary but it is recommended as you will need to be able to understand the code samples provided.
2. How to Make a Heat Map – This is a quick guide on how to create a heatmap in R. This tutorial will show you how to load some NBA stats and create a customizable heatmap in seven easy steps.
3. Spatial Data in R: Using R as a GIS – This is a great tutorial for integrating Google Maps into R. Users can learn how to create a powerful and free Geographic Information System(GIS) utilizing the analysis capabilities of R and the sleek map layers of Google maps. Use this to create meaningful maps without an expensive subscription to ESRI’s ArcMap or settling for other often buggy open-source GIS platforms.
4. Introduction to R: Graphs and Maps – This is a short tutorial on the basics of R, including examples of plotting data with ggplot2 and mapping data with ggmap. Also included is a comparison of R and SAS

1. Shiny – Shiny is used to turn R analysis into interactive web applications. Here is the official Shiny tutorial from RStudio. No knowledge of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript needed.
2. R Shiny App Tutorial – For those who prefer tutorials done entirely in video, here is a 15-part series for learning Shiny to produce web applications using R.
3. CRAN’s List of Tutorials -The R Project’s very own list of useful tutorials for a multitude of R-related niches in several different languages. This is the official community supported and approved source to get users up, and running with R.

1. Swirl – Swirl is a free companion to the R software that sets up interactive tutorials directly in the R console. Each module is 10-20 minutes in length and the software is updated every one to two months to keep current with new releases of R.
2. Two Minute R Tutorials – The host makes each of the 91 two-minute tutorials educational, surprisingly fun and comical. You will laugh. These tutorials are quick bursts of information well worth the two minutes.
3. R-bloggers – This is the definitive R blog produced by a collection of R aficionados. It contains everything from how-tos on getting started with R to news on the latest packages available on the Comprehensive R Archive Network(CRAN). This is a great resource to both learn and stay up-to-date with the current happenings of R developers.
4. R-podcast – R podcast has been out of production since 2013 but is still a great resource for beginners who are auditory learners. There are 13 published episodes, some well over an hour, that lead listeners through the basics of R and into more advanced topics. The site provides useful links and articles that go along with each podcast.

Learn More R, Understand More Data

R and all of its add-ons are free and open source. As more and more fields are taking advantage of Big Data to progress their interests we should see an increase in the amount of companies looking to utilize R programming. Let us know how your use of R has made data analysis easier for you.