Use of R for social science?

[Ashley]

Hello colleagues-

I'm interested to hear about social scientists' experiences using R in your research and teaching.  I recently joined a Fish and Wildlife Conservation department where most of the faculty are using R. (I am one of the only social scientists in the department).  I have always used SPSS for my research and teaching.  In fact I teach a Social Science Survey methods course where I use Vaske's Survey Research and Analysis text (that uses SPSS) as my foundational text, and I'm quite happy with it.  The faculty praise R for being free (especially important for teaching) and powerful and have encouraged me to consider switching for my courses.

If you are using R, could you let me know your thoughts on it offline? I'm particularly interested in hearing from those who switched from SPSS. If you are teaching with it, is there a good text that teaches survey methods with R examples?

Thanks!

Sincerely,

Ashley Dayer