Appendix B — Frequently Asked Questions

Warning

🚧 This section is being actively worked on. 🚧

This page is intended as a “quick-fix” repositroty for common issues and simple solutions for the Medical Statistics course.

B.1 Issues with R

Tip B.1: R will not run my code

Check the following:

Make sure you have loaded all the required packages with library(). Verify that your data is correctly loaded and appears in the Environment/Variables pane. Restart R and try again if the issue persists.

Tip B.2: I get an error about a missing package

Install the package using: install.packages("packageName")

Then load it with: library(packageName)

Tip B.3: My plots do not show

Ensure your plotting window (Plots pane in RStudio) is open. Use print(plot_object) inside functions or loops to display plots. Check for typos in variable names or dataset columns.

B.2 Using Other Software

Tip B.4: Can I use software other than R?

For this course, no. Assignments and evaluations are based on R skills. You may explore other software independently, but submissions must be done in R. IF you already know other programs like python, julia, matlab etc., you will learn faster and gain a deeper intuition of programming in general by learning R. However, R is by far the most capable when it comes to statistical programming within medical statistics.

Tip B.5: Can I use an IDE other than RStudio?

Yes, you can use any IDE you prefer. However, we will not provide specific instructions for other IDEs. Any issues or troubleshooting will be your responsibility.

B.3 How do I find the datasets mentioned in the course?

Tip B.6

Where do I find the course datasets?

Datasets are available here.

B.4 Miscellaneous

Tip B.7: I don’t understand a concept in class

Review lecture slides and the recommended textbook. Check online resources for statistics tutorials. Attend office hours or contact the instructor for guidance. What should I do if I miss a class? Watch recorded lectures (if available) and review slides. Work through exercises to catch up. Ask classmates or the instructor for clarifications.

Tip B.8: How do I cite R or packages in assignments?

Use the citation information provided by: citation("packageName")

For R itself: citation()

B.5 Finding documentation and help within R

Tip B.9: Leverage help and tutorials

Use ?functionName for built-in guidance. Explore RStudio cheat sheets for statistics, data wrangling, and plotting. Online tutorials (like R for Data Science by Hadley Wickham) are excellent references.

Tip B.10: What happens when I get scary red text and “error” messages?

Don’t worry about making mistakes — R’s error messages are your friends. They often tell you exactly what went wrong and how to fix it. Learning to read them is a skill in itself.