Why Should I Use R? Top 10 Reasons for Learning Something New

R, the open-source statistical programming language, has many advantages over proprietary statistical software packages.  It is freely available, works well on any operating system, and produces outstanding graphics.

Perhaps because of its advantages, there is increasing interest in using R across professions.  This has been evidenced by growing numbers of scholarly articles mentioning the use of R and the number of job published job postings listing R as a required skill (Muenchen, 2015). In recent years, there has been rising interest in using R in social work; the number of workshops, paper presentations and special interest groups at professional meetings has been steadily increasing (e.g., Auerbach, Zeitlin, & Mason, 2014; Perron & Victor, 2016; Wang & Tran, 2016; Zeitlin, Auerbach, Cuellar, & Orme, 2016).  Despite this, most social work researchers do not use R, and there is a widely-accepted perception that there is a steep learning curve to becoming proficient at using R (Perron & Victor, 2016; Zuur, Ieno, & Meesters, 2009). 

In general, faculty face barriers to adopting new technologies and are often resistant to change.  In university settings, lack of both financial and institutional support are cited as reasons why new technologies may not be implemented (Butler & Sellbom, 2002).  Additionally, busy faculty with competing demands may not have time to become proficient with new software, particularly when existing software may be meeting current needs (Butler & Sellbom, 2002; Tagg, 2012).  Faculty are often averse to change when it is viewed as risky and does not provide obvious benefits (Tagg, 2012).  Taken together, it may be difficult to introduce the benefits of R to social work faculty even when it offers distinct advantages.

 Diffusion of innovation theory can be used to explain why some new ideas, including new technologies, are implemented while others are not.  Novel innovations are more likely to be adopted when they are viewed as superior to existing alternatives, when they are perceived as less complex than alternatives, and they can be experimented with prior to adoption (Rogers, 2003).  Additionally, innovations that are more congruent with the norms and values of an organization are more likely to adopted than alternatives (Rogers, 2003).

In this paper presentation, participants will be shown the advantages of using R by addressing existing barriers in a user-friendly manner: by presenting “The Top 10 Reasons for Using R.” As participants are walked through each of the Top 10, they will be shown brief demonstrations and examples illustrating each.  They will be shown where and how they can access the resources necessary to get started with R and begin dabbling with it.  Attendees will then be provided with a Dropbox link so they can access all the resources mentioned during this presentation