Installing R, RStudio, and required packages
Download and install R from CRAN:
.exe file.pkg fileRecommended version: R 4.3.0 or later.
Download RStudio Desktop (free) from Posit.
Install and open RStudio. You should see four panels as described in Session 2.
Open RStudio and run the following code in the Console (bottom-left panel):
# Core packages for the workshop
install.packages(c(
# Data manipulation and visualization
"tidyverse",
"ggplot2",
"knitr",
"DT",
"DiagrammeR",
# Health economics modelling
"heemod",
"dampack",
"BCEA",
# Survival analysis
"survival",
"survHE",
"flexsurv",
# Interactive apps
"shiny",
"shinydashboard",
# Document rendering
"quarto",
"rmarkdown"
))This may take 10-15 minutes depending on your internet connection.
Run this code to check that all packages installed correctly:
packages <- c("tidyverse", "ggplot2", "knitr", "DT", "DiagrammeR", "heemod",
"dampack", "BCEA", "survival", "survHE", "flexsurv",
"shiny", "shinydashboard", "quarto", "rmarkdown")
for (pkg in packages) {
if (require(pkg, character.only = TRUE, quietly = TRUE)) {
cat("[OK]", pkg, "installed successfully\n")
} else {
cat("[FAIL]", pkg, "-- try reinstalling with install.packages('", pkg, "')\n")
}
}HTA-R-Workshop-2026.Rproj“Package not available” error: Your R version may be too old. Update R to version 4.3 or later.
Installation hangs: Try installing packages one at a time instead of all at once.
Behind a proxy/firewall: Ask your IT department for proxy settings, then run:
---
title: "Setup Guide"
subtitle: "Installing R, RStudio, and required packages"
format:
html:
toc: true
---
## Step 1: Install R
Download and install R from [CRAN](https://cran.r-project.org/):
- **Windows:** Click "Download R for Windows" → "base" → download the `.exe` file
- **Mac:** Click "Download R for macOS" → download the `.pkg` file
- **Linux:** Follow instructions for your distribution
**Recommended version:** R 4.3.0 or later.
## Step 2: Install RStudio
Download RStudio Desktop (free) from [Posit](https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/).
Install and open RStudio. You should see four panels as described in Session 2.
## Step 3: Install Required Packages
Open RStudio and run the following code in the Console (bottom-left panel):
```{r}
#| label: install-packages
#| echo: true
#| eval: false
# Core packages for the workshop
install.packages(c(
# Data manipulation and visualization
"tidyverse",
"ggplot2",
"knitr",
"DT",
"DiagrammeR",
# Health economics modelling
"heemod",
"dampack",
"BCEA",
# Survival analysis
"survival",
"survHE",
"flexsurv",
# Interactive apps
"shiny",
"shinydashboard",
# Document rendering
"quarto",
"rmarkdown"
))
```
This may take 10-15 minutes depending on your internet connection.
## Step 4: Verify Installation
Run this code to check that all packages installed correctly:
```{r}
#| label: verify
#| echo: true
#| eval: false
packages <- c("tidyverse", "ggplot2", "knitr", "DT", "DiagrammeR", "heemod",
"dampack", "BCEA", "survival", "survHE", "flexsurv",
"shiny", "shinydashboard", "quarto", "rmarkdown")
for (pkg in packages) {
if (require(pkg, character.only = TRUE, quietly = TRUE)) {
cat("[OK]", pkg, "installed successfully\n")
} else {
cat("[FAIL]", pkg, "-- try reinstalling with install.packages('", pkg, "')\n")
}
}
```
## Step 5: Open the Workshop Project
1. Download or clone this repository
2. In RStudio, go to **File → Open Project**
3. Navigate to the workshop folder and open `HTA-R-Workshop-2026.Rproj`
4. You are ready to begin!
## Troubleshooting
**"Package not available" error:** Your R version may be too old. Update R to version 4.3 or later.
**Installation hangs:** Try installing packages one at a time instead of all at once.
**Behind a proxy/firewall:** Ask your IT department for proxy settings, then run:
```r
Sys.setenv(http_proxy = "http://your-proxy:port")
Sys.setenv(https_proxy = "http://your-proxy:port")
```