1 Frequently Asked Questions

This document is designed to help you troubleshoot any issues or questions related to R coding that you might encounter during this course. Remember, the errors or warnings R beginners face are normal and are likely quickly resolved through a simple fix. If you’re working on problem sets and run into an issue, check this page first to see if there is a solution to your problem.

In case you want to create something similar, this document is made with the bookdown package.

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1.0.1 4 Top Tips

  • Warning vs. Error: Remember, a warning is simply R letting you know that there may be unexpected behavior/outputs in the code. For example, R recycles vectors and might coerce mixed vectors into a single data class. A warning in these cases is helpful for allowing you to make sure that this is what you intended to do with the code. Importantly, a warning means that the R code still ran, while an error means the code did not run. Errors will require additional debugging before moving on with your code.

  • Script vs. Console: In R Studio you will see two panes that contain code. One of these is the script. This is where you will draft your code and from where you run the code. This file can be saved and then opened again later, shared with others, etc. The console is where the code output appears. You can also input code in the console, but it will not be saved in the script. Any code that you want to save and use again should be written in the script.

  • Installing vs. Loading Packages: The first time you use a R package on a new machine you will need to install the package. After that initial install, you only need to load the packages. Packages should be loaded using the library() function each time you start a new R session. Sometimes after updating R or RStudio you will need to re-install packages.

  • Help files: R functions often have useful help files that can explain the syntax of the function as well as offer several example use-cases. Help files are accessed by placing a ? before the function name. For example: ?table().