rprogrammingbooks

Square graphic comparing R and Julia for data science, featuring their logos with contrasting themes: R linked to visualization, Julia linked to speed, and the tagline 'Speed, Statistics, and the Future of Analytics' in bold typography

R vs Julia: Speed, Statistics, and the Future of Data Science

In the rapidly evolving world of data science and analytics, two languages stand out for statisticians and researchers: R and Julia. While R has been a trusted companion in statistical computing for decades, Julia has emerged as a modern language promising both speed and flexibility. This raises a crucial question: is Julia the future of […]

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Square graphic comparing R and Python for data science, featuring logos of both languages, contrasting strengths like visualization and machine learning, in a clean data-science themed design.

R vs Python in 2025: A Complete Comparison for Data Science

In the world of data science, two programming languages dominate the conversation: R and Python. Both have powerful ecosystems, passionate communities, and proven success in real-world analytics. Yet the question persists: which language is better for data science? The truth is that both R and Python excel in different areas. Choosing the right tool often

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Square graphic with title 'Collecting & Cleaning Sports Data in R', showing colorful bar and line charts on a dark sports-themed background with the R programming logo.

How to Collect and Clean Sports Data in R (FBref, Sports-Reference, ESPN + rvest Tutorial)

This hands-on tutorial walks through acquiring sports data for analysis in R—either by downloading CSVs from public sources or by using R-based APIs and web scraping. You’ll learn how to load raw data, deal with common “messiness” (types, missing values, inconsistent formats), and produce a tidy dataset that’s ready for analysis and visualization. What you’ll

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blog post about top R packages for sports data

Top R Packages for Sports Data | Essential Libraries for Analytics

An overview of essential R libraries for sports analytics with examples. Table of Contents tidyverse: Data Wrangling ggplot2: Data Visualization Shiny: Interactive Dashboards worldfootballR: Soccer Data nflfastR: NFL Play-by-Play Data Conclusion tidyverse: Data Wrangling The tidyverse is a collection of packages for data science. It includes dplyr, readr, and tidyr, making it a must for

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Square digital illustration of a soccer field overlaid with analytics visuals, including a bar chart, line graph, pie chart labeled 58%, and passing arrows, with the title “Soccer Analytics in R” at the top

How to Transform Football Data with R: ggsoccer & worldfootballR Guide

A practical, code-first walkthrough for fetching rich football data, building models, and producing clear visuals entirely in R. What You’ll Learn Everything below is copy-ready R. Adjust team/season names to your league of interest. Setup Get Data with worldfootballR worldfootballR provides friendly functions to pull leagues, teams, players, and match-level tables from FBref and Transfermarkt.

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worldfootballR The Complete Guide for Soccer Data in R

worldfootballR: The Complete Guide for Soccer Data in R

worldfootballR: The Complete Guide for Soccer Data in R worldfootballR is one of the most popular R packages for collecting and analyzing soccer data. Whether you are a data scientist, a football analyst, or just a fan who loves statistics, this package makes it simple to pull structured data from FBref, Transfermarkt, and Understat. With

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Football Analytics with R NFL Data Science using nflfastR and the nflverse

Football Analytics with R: NFL Data Science using nflfastR and the nflverse

A hands-on, reproducible guide to loading NFL play-by-play, computing EPA/success, win probability, and fourth-down decisions — all with tidy R workflows. Why this guide NFL play-by-play (PBP) data enables powerful, interpretable metrics: Expected Points Added (EPA), success rate, win probability (WP), and fourth-down decision models. This tutorial shows a clean path to: Setup: packages &

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