Comments on: When to use Excel, when to use R? http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/ Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:37:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anonymous http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-2901 Anonymous Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:37:00 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-2901 Thank you for the comment Tom! Have you tried RStudio yet? I switched from Terminal to RStudio and have really been enjoying it. Thank you for the comment Tom! Have you tried RStudio yet? I switched from Terminal to RStudio and have really been enjoying it.

]]> By: Tom Martin http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-2900 Tom Martin Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:44:00 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-2900 I've been using spreadsheets ever since desktop computers were a curiosity rather than necessity, doing data graphics since the days of pen and ink, and teaching biostatistics to students of varied technical backgrounds for the last two decades.  I used SAS in my stat classes up until about 5 years ago when I switched to R exclusively.  The learning curve for using SAS and R is almost the same and the capabilities for statistics are very similar.  But, SAS is head and shoulders easier for data manipulation while R is head and shoulders better for graphics.  So, I now have my students use a spreadsheet program (usually Excel, but some opt for open source) for ease of data entry and manipulation in conjunction with the Rcmdr package for R.  We use R for ALL graphics and statistical heavy lifting.  Excel graphics are almost altogether not publication quality and any summarization that needs to be done over replicate groupings is relatively cumbersome.  The biggest downfall to using R was lack of appropriate-level, consistent-quality, documentation.  Thanks to O'Reilly and folks like you for helping fill that void!  I do differ with you on using Excel  for data presentation -- I go to Word or some other word-processing or desktop publishing software where I have more control over table formatting. I’ve been using spreadsheets ever since desktop computers were a curiosity rather than necessity, doing data graphics since the days of pen and ink, and teaching biostatistics to students of varied technical backgrounds for the last two decades.  I used SAS in my stat classes up until about 5 years ago when I switched to R exclusively.  The learning curve for using SAS and R is almost the same and the capabilities for statistics are very similar.  But, SAS is head and shoulders easier for data manipulation while R is head and shoulders better for graphics.  So, I now have my students use a spreadsheet program (usually Excel, but some opt for open source) for ease of data entry and manipulation in conjunction with the Rcmdr package for R.  We use R for ALL graphics and statistical heavy lifting.  Excel graphics are almost altogether not publication quality and any summarization that needs to be done over replicate groupings is relatively cumbersome.  The biggest downfall to using R was lack of appropriate-level, consistent-quality, documentation.  Thanks to O’Reilly and folks like you for helping fill that void!  I do differ with you on using Excel  for data presentation — I go to Word or some other word-processing or desktop publishing software where I have more control over table formatting.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-2891 Anonymous Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:40:00 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-2891 Not that I'm aware of! I am not aware of there being many users in our industry (I'm a fundraiser too). What are you looking to do with R? Not that I’m aware of! I am not aware of there being many users in our industry (I’m a fundraiser too). What are you looking to do with R?

]]> By: BobH http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-2890 BobH Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:54:00 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-2890 Are there any tutorials for using R to do fundraising analytics? Are there any tutorials for using R to do fundraising analytics?

]]> By: medical Technologist http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-114 medical Technologist Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:01:21 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-114 Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article

]]> By: EastZoneSoupCube - links for 2010-04-18 http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-56 EastZoneSoupCube - links for 2010-04-18 Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:21:43 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-56 [...] When to use Excel, when to use R? (tags: analysis data R excel statistics software comparison) Kommentare (0) [...] [...] When to use Excel, when to use R? (tags: analysis data R excel statistics software comparison) Kommentare (0) [...]

]]> By: Greg Gurevich http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-55 Greg Gurevich Sun, 18 Apr 2010 04:55:07 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-55 Sam, Can I take you up on a QueryCell license? Sam, Can I take you up on a QueryCell license?

]]> By: melipone http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-54 melipone Sun, 18 Apr 2010 01:38:47 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-54 How about Octave? How about Octave?

]]> By: MSimms http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-53 MSimms Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:25:25 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-53 Michael obviously does not know VBA beyond generating scripts from the Macro recording option. VBA is extremely powerful and very much a RAD dev tool...once you learn the 10,000 item Excel object model. His indication that Excel 2007 is a great release is contrary to the facts that it has not sold well....at all. Couple that with the fact that it is 2-3 times slower than Excel 2003....well, there is obvious bias in his assertions. On the other hand...Excel 2010 shows promise. Michael obviously does not know VBA beyond generating scripts from the Macro recording option. VBA is extremely powerful and very much a RAD dev tool…once you learn the 10,000 item Excel object model.

His indication that Excel 2007 is a great release is contrary to the facts that it has not sold well….at all. Couple that with the fact that it is 2-3 times slower than Excel 2003….well, there is obvious bias in his assertions.

On the other hand…Excel 2010 shows promise.

]]> By: Closer To The Ideal » Blog Archive » When to use the R language http://www.michaelmilton.net/2010/01/26/when-to-use-excel-when-to-use-r/#comment-52 Closer To The Ideal » Blog Archive » When to use the R language Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:21:18 +0000 http://michaelmilton.net/?p=286#comment-52 [...] When to use the R language When you have to explore data. At the start of an analytic project, it’s a good idea to create a bunch of graphical visualizations of your data to get a sense of what’s inside it. In terms of its graphical capabilities, R exists in a whole separate dimension from Excel. This was perhaps the most shocking part to me about using R for the first time: I really thought I had a handle on data analysis even though I’d restricted my software to Excel, but boy was I wrong. The visualizations you can create in R are much more sophisticated and much more nuanced. And, philosophically, you can tell that the visualization tools in R were created by people more interested in good thinking about data than about beautiful presentation. (The result, ironically, is a much more beautiful presentation, IMHO.) [...] [...] When to use the R language When you have to explore data. At the start of an analytic project, it’s a good idea to create a bunch of graphical visualizations of your data to get a sense of what’s inside it. In terms of its graphical capabilities, R exists in a whole separate dimension from Excel. This was perhaps the most shocking part to me about using R for the first time: I really thought I had a handle on data analysis even though I’d restricted my software to Excel, but boy was I wrong. The visualizations you can create in R are much more sophisticated and much more nuanced. And, philosophically, you can tell that the visualization tools in R were created by people more interested in good thinking about data than about beautiful presentation. (The result, ironically, is a much more beautiful presentation, IMHO.) [...]

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