[R-wiki] Beginner - Intermediate - Advanced... new attempt

[Damian Betebenner]

I agree that the categorization into distinct categories is futile. I think that there are much
more meaningful characterizations of the content that can be made that will help the user
navigate its contents. 

The goal in designing the Wiki, I think, is to allow the user to zero in on what they're
interested in as quickly as possible. Someone mentioned recently on the list-serv
that the list-serv archives are not ideally structured for someone wishing to get
a question answered. Thus, the same questions are asked over and over.

The R language already comes with a "dictonary" like structure for its commands. However,
when you aren't exactly sure what command you need, its tough to know what command
to look at.

As a coder, often the most useful thing to me is a well done example. Some of the examples
in the R command help are wonderful, but I often discover them inadvertantly. What
I will use the Wiki primarily for it to examine really nice examples that people add. That
will lead me to examine the syntax more carefully which will likely in turn lead me to other
examples. It's this back and forth that is the power of hypertext. A Wiki strength is its
ability to present code alongside graphics and text annotation.

Thus, my recommendation is that a navigation layout be thought up that (in addition to
other functionality) allows the user to quickly procced to examine certain types of 
examples (e.g., string manipulation, categorical data analysis, etc.). I don't know if this could 
be faciliated using some  sort of metadata, but being able to go back and forth between 
examples and the commands that make up the examples seems most useful.

Damian




 |  On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 10:12:39 -0500
 |  Gabor Grothendieck <ggrothendieck at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>I must say I find this entire beginner/intermediate/expert baffling.
>>>I have no idea what goes where and to me its an categorization
>>>that is difficult to get right and probably not a good idea.  I would
>>>just omit the whole thing.  If someone can point to another
>>>language that has used such a categorization successfully
>>>I would be willing to modify this viewpoint but I know of none.
>>>I think more useful categorizations have already
>>>been discussed.
>>>
>>>On 1/28/06, Philippe Grosjean <phgrosjean at sciviews.org> wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> Following the previous discussion about the icons with three users (some
>>>> people did not like them and found them not very clear nor informative
>>>> enough), I make a second trial.
>>>>
>>>> This time, there are still three skill levels ("novice", "user" and
>>>> "expert"), but no possible mixture (like "novice" + "user", excluding
>>>> "expert", for instance).
>>>>
>>>> I also considered Tont Plate's suggestion of an explicit text, but I
>>>> integrate this text in the icon (I also took Ben Bolker's suggestion to
>>>> use road signs ;-).
>>>>
>>>> I designed three series of icons:
>>>> 1) With text for top of page,
>>>> 2) Big icon without text, for sections on the page and
>>>> 3) small icons without text, to rate with discrete icons lists or table
>>>> of content entries.
>>>>
>>>> The Wiki site is modified to use these icons, so, you can make your own
>>>> idea more easily. Look for instance at:
>>>> - http://www.sciviews.org/_rgui/wiki/doku.php?id=start for the explanation,
>>>>
>>>> - http://www.sciviews.org/_rgui/wiki/doku.php?id=rtips:data:import for
>>>> the use in a page and,
>>>>
>>>> - http://www.sciviews.org/_rgui/wiki/doku.php?id=beginners:introduction
>>>> for usage in a table of content.
>>>>
>>>> Once again, I am waiting for your valuable comments!
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> Philippe Grosjean
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
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Damian Betebenner
Educational Research, Measurement & Evaluation
Lynch School of Education
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467

(617) 552 4491