TSB chooses RStudio software and definitively says goodbye to SPSS
The transition from the software program SPSS to RStudio within the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (TSB) is now final. Starting next academic year, first-year students will begin working with RStudio.
The TSB faculty is switching from the statistical analysis program SPSS to RStudio. This aligns with the growing trend in academic and professional fields, where RStudio is increasingly being used as the standard. RStudio is the development environment used to work with R. R refers to the programming language itself, although the name is also often used to refer to the program.
More and more universities are therefore making the transition to RStudio. ‘The discussion about working with RStudio had already been ongoing within several departments,’ acknowledges Marjan Bakker, Assistant Professor of Methodology and Statistics at TSB. The decision to adopt RStudio has now been finalized.
‘We see that R is used in many professional fields because it is more flexible than SPSS,’ says Bakker, ‘which ensures future-proof education.’ In addition, RStudio aligns well with Tilburg University’s open science principles. ‘It is an open-source program, and analyses are transparent and reproducible.’
Phased Implementation
The transition will be implemented in phases to ensure a smooth shift. Next year, first-year students will begin, after which the entire curriculum will gradually transition to R.
‘The first practical sessions are already prepared, and we want to run a pilot with a small group of students,’ Bakker explains. ‘We are confident that students can learn this, just as they previously learned SPSS.’
Support for Lecturers
During the transition phase, attention will be given to lecturers who are still accustomed to SPSS. Workshops will be developed for this group. ‘We offer workshops covering basic skills in RStudio, specifically focused on the issues lecturers encounter when supervising students,’ says Bakker.
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