Software Installation Guide

EC325: Econometrics | Colby College

Author

Prof. Caraher

Published

February 3, 2026

This guide walks you through installing everything you need for EC325: Econometrics. Please complete these steps the first week of class.

If you have any issues, please send me an email or come to office hours.

Step 1: Install R

R is the statistical programming language we’ll use throughout the course.

  1. Go to https://cloud.r-project.org/
  2. Click the download link for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
  3. Follow the installation instructions

Step 2: Install RStudio

RStudio is the interface we use to work with R. It makes coding much easier.

  1. Go to https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/
  2. Download the free Desktop version for your operating system
  3. Install and open RStudio
Important

After installing both, you only need to open RStudio—-it runs R automatically in the background.

Step 3: Create a GitHub Account

We use GitHub to share course materials.

  1. Go to https://github.com/
  2. Click “Sign up” and create a free account
  3. Use your @colby.edu email to get free GitHub Pro access (optional but recommended)

Step 4: Install Git

Git is version control software that lets you download and update course materials.

Mac Users

  1. Open Terminal (press Cmd + Space, type “Terminal”, press Enter)
  2. Type git --version and press Enter
  3. If Git isn’t installed, you’ll see a pop-up prompting you to install the Command Line Developer Tools—click “Install”
  4. Wait for the installation to complete

Windows Users

  1. Go to https://git-scm.com/download/win
  2. The download should start automatically
  3. Run the installer
  4. Use the default settings for all options (just keep clicking “Next”)
  5. Click “Install” and then “Finish”

Step 5: Configure Git

Before using Git, you need to tell it your name and email. This information is attached to any changes you make.

  1. Open RStudio
  2. Go to Tools → Terminal → New Terminal
  3. Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each line:
git config --global user.name "Your username"
git config --global user.email "your.email@colby.edu"

Replace Your username with your actual GitHub username name and your.email@colby.edu with your Colby email (or whatever email you used for your GitHub account).

To verify it worked, type:

git config --global user.name
git config --global user.email

You should see your name and email printed back. For more information about installing Git on your machine, refer to https://git-scm.com/install/.

Step 6: Clone the Course Repository

Now let’s download the course materials to your computer.

  1. Open RStudio
  2. Go to File → New Project → Version Control → Git
  3. Enter the repository URL: https://github.com/rpcaraher/ec325.git
  4. Choose where to save the folder on your computer (e.g., your Documents folder)
  5. Click “Create Project”

You now have all course materials! To get updates throughout the semester, click the Pull button in the Git tab (usually in the top-right panel of RStudio).

Step 7: Verify Your Setup

To make sure everything works:

  1. Open RStudio
  2. In the Console (bottom-left panel), type 2 + 2 and press Enter
  3. You should see [1] 4

If that works, you’re ready for class!