I am emailing my professor for help. I hope he doesn't get me kicked out.

[coloradodem2005]

There are certain things that I don't understand and I need help on but I am afraid of what the consequences might be for asking for help. I tried looking at the online manuals but nothing seems to help me with my particular problems. Most people seem to be a little more confident about using it and don't seem to be having my problems. I just don't understand why this is so hard for me. I am so afraid of what the consequences will be for me asking for some hands on help for this. What if he tries to take me out of the program? I am so scared.

[Renew Deal]

1. What language? What level?

I am a network/server guy. I took programming classes and they were very hard for me. I took them step by step.

[coloradodem2005]

2. R.

It is a statistics based language. It is supposed to be really easy but it is still hard for me when teachers don't go through a good deal of what you have to do with programming in class. It is not supposed to be the biggest part, being that there are non-programming problems I have to do.

The thing is, I was taught SAS and SPSS and I became competent and comfortable really quickly with them. I have had a lot of distractions too with family in town.

[Renew Deal]

3. I've never even heard of that.,

Are you a computer science major?

[coloradodem2005]

5. No. Statistics.

These are Statistics languages. SAS and SPSS came easier because the teacher taught me how to use them effectively. Here, I think learning the language is something supposed to be done on your own.

[mike_c]

12. R is not easy (at first) for most people....

It's powerful, and exceedingly flexible, and it utterly rocks for data analyses, visualization, and graphics. But if anyone led you to believe that there wouldn't be an initial steep learning slope, they were blowing smoke up your ass. Even some of the most basic programming constructs are usually approached slightly differently in R than in a lower level general purpose language like C. I actually think it might be easier to learn to write GOOD R code if you aren't encumbered by old habits (it took me years to wean myself off of using for() loops in R whenever possible, for example).

[Nikia]

4. Ask for help

I don't know if things are different at the grad level, but asking the professor for help was always the recommended action in undergraduate courses at my school. I don't know if there are tutors at the grad level either. I wouldn't think that he could get you kicked out of the program for asking for help. Some professors have big egos about themselves and their subject so they aren't always helpful. My calculus professor was insulting and said that I shouldn't even be in the class. I stayed in the class though and passed with a C, not great but not bad considering that he always aimed for that as an average grade and failed as many people as he gave As. Most profs are better though. Just be sure that you have intelligent questions instead of saying "I don't understand any of this at all."

[mike_c]

I do a LOT of work with R...

Hell, I've even used it to write a function to convert my data base of course schedules into nested and formatted HTML tables-- one of the most inappropriate uses of a language that I can think of.

Anyway, maybe I can help. It's pretty late now, but if you'll PM me I'll get back to you in the AM. Don't worry, everyone struggles with R and S-Plus a bit at first, but then it becomes the slickest analysis tool around.

BTW, is this a beginning stats class, or something a bit more advanced? If the former, I highly recommend Introductory Statistics with R by Peter Dalgaard (ISBN 0-387-95475-9).

Seriously, I'm going to PM you my email address and other contact info. I use R almost daily, and I've probably written 10,000 lines of R code in the past couple of years. help is on the way.

[petronius]

6. Try not to worry too much

Most professors want questions, and wish students would come in for help more frequently and sooner. For me - I'm a lecturer - few things are more bothersome than to have to give a bad grade to a student that I could have helped if they'd come in sooner. I've never understood the fear of asking questions or coming to office hours, but I've many students trembling and near tears just asking questions about class...

Remember, the professor's job is to teach you the material, and if helping you isn't his first priority, then he is not doing a good job. However, I bet he will be glad for the questions, as they will also help him get a sense of the classes progress.

[Droopy]

7. Make him earn his money

Don't be afraid to ask for help. That's what they are there for.

[mia]

8. What kinds of manuals are you looking at?

Most people seem to be a little more confident about using it...

What is 'it'?

All of us are beginners every time we're learning something new.
We don't get it until we understand the vocabulary of a particular subject. Why not pose your questions here on DU?

[coloradodem2005]

9. R is the programming language.

These are online manuals. It is a statistics based programming language.

[mike_c]

11. the best books to get your hands on are...

...the book I mentioned above, Introductory Statistics with R by Peter Dalgaard, Modern Applied Statistics with S, Fourth edition (MASS) by Venebles and Ripley, and The New S Language. A Programming Environment for Data Analysis and Graphics by Becker, Chambers, and Wilks (affectionately known as "The Blue Book").

I gathered from some of the other replies that you're a grad student, but that actually means you'll probably get more out of the Dalgaard book than a beginning student-- you'll be able to focus more on the syntax for accomplishing what you want than worrying about what analyses to use or how to interpret the output if you already have some stats background.

The 4th ed. of MASS includes R specific stuff, although I used the 3rd ed. quite happily-- MASS is the book you need if you want more detailed info on advanced topics, model specification syntax, and so on.

The blue book has been out of print for several years, but your library might have it and it is an EXCELLENT general purpose introduction to most things R.

Have you looked at any of the tutorials referenced on http://www.r-project.org/ ?

[mia]

13. Here's a good interactive page for stats concepts.

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~lane/stat_sim/index.html

It's been a long time since I used SPSS and I just had to look up the meaning of "R". Then it all came back to me.

Statistics IV was a nightmare of thousands of formulas written all over the walls. The classroom had 3 pull-down boards, and the professor would talk about his research on the effect of body odor in crowded places (or something like that), then pull down one of his boards with pre-written formulas a yard long and we would all copy them down. He did this for every class.

Our class of 8 graduate students worked together night-after-night on his projects using a very user-unfriendly BMDP program. Then while waiting outside his office to ask some questions, we over-heard him talking to one of his colleagues over the phone about how his students were finding "the kinks".

The final exam was an easy take-home of defining concepts and listing formulas. We all got A's. The only things I remember are the concepts of forecasting and seasonality.

Thanks for your expressing your concerns. It's been fun exploring what's new in statistics and coming back to your thread while waiting for Hurricane Frances to blow over. Good luck with your studies and don't be afraid to keep asking questions.


The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. ~Albert Einstein

There are no foolish questions, and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions. ~Charles Proteus Steinmetz

The one real object of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions. ~Bishop Mandell Creighton

[Gore1FL]

10. The consequences of askign for help

Damn well ought to be getting help. If you recieve abnything less than that, complain.

You are paying good money to learn. It is your reponsibility to ask, and his/her responsibility to give it.

[harper]

14. Here's a secret

If you're having problems understanding some of the material, chances are others in your class are having the same problems. So don't be afraid to ask, your fellow students will thank you. Plus, any teacher worth his salt wants you to learn the material and would rather you ask for help than just drift along.

[liontamer]

15. I'm in the same boat

the professor won't get you kicked out, but I often prefer to see if I can ask someone else in the program a few years higher up to help. They're often super helpful too. And it's a great way to forge connections within your dept.