Class 1 — Environment & Open Science

Part I
Turn your browser-only Python exposure into a real local toolchain — install and verify R, RStudio, Quarto, and PsychoPy, then create your GitHub repo for the semester.
Published

September 8, 2026

PART I · CLASS 1

Today is about turning last week’s browser-only Python exposure into a real local toolchain. You’ll install and verify R, RStudio, Quarto, and PsychoPy on your own machine, get oriented to how the course’s two languages divide labor — Python builds the experiment, R analyzes what it collects — and set up the GitHub repository you’ll use for every homework and, eventually, your final project.

Reading due: Think Python ch. 1 (via Colab) · Due today: —

What you’ll be able to do

  1. Explain, in your own words, the difference between a program, a variable, and a function.
  2. Explain why this course uses Python for data collection (PsychoPy) and R for data analysis (tidyverse) rather than one language for both.
  3. Verify a working local install of R, RStudio, Quarto, and PsychoPy on your own machine.
  4. Diagnose and self-resolve at least one common installation error.
  5. Create a GitHub account (if needed), join the course’s GitHub organization, and create your own repo from the course template — the repo where your homework and eventual final project will live.
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