Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Why did you change your name?

Answer: We wanted a name that caused less confusion.

We launched in 2017 as an online space for learners and mentors to gather to read R for Data Science (R4DS) by Hadley Wickham and Garrett Grolemund together. The name “R4DS Online Learning Community” made sense for that group.

However, we now support much more than just that one book.

Question: Are you changing your focus from R to Python?

Answer: No! We seek to support all data science learners.

We began with R, our internal tools are written in R, and many of our users, book clubs and channels focus on R. However, we know that data scientists use many languages in their day-to-day work, including Python, Julia, SQL, and others. We want to help data science learners learn all of the skills they need, regardless of whether those skills involve R, Python, Julia, SQL, JavaScript, or no programming language at all.

Question: Aren’t you just a book club for R for Data Science?

Answer: No! We support over fifty books and at least four programming languages!

We began with R for Data Science because it is a great book for beginners. But we host book clubs for many other R book (such as Advanced R, Mastering Shiny, and Tidy Modeling with R), and even other programming languages (such as Python for Data Analysis and Fundamentals of Numerical Computation with Julia).

Question: Are you part of (Posit, Google, etc)?

Answer: No! We are an independent organization.

Google mentions us in their Data Analytics Certificate courses, and we received a donation from Posit in our former incarnation as the R4DS Online Learning Community. However, we are not affiliated with either organization.