Class 1 — Environment & Open Science

Part I
Turn your browser-only Python exposure into real, working software on your own computer — install and verify R, RStudio, Quarto, and PsychoPy, then create your GitHub repo for the semester.
Published

September 8, 2026

Today is about turning your pre-class, browser-only Python exposure into real, working software on your own computer. 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 (“repo”) 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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