Advanced Programming with R: Midterm

Timeline

Date	Milestone
Thursday, October 1	Midterm plan due (see Midterm plan below).
Tuesday, October 6	Instructors return feedback on your plan.
October 6 – 27	Work on your project (no class October 13 and 15, Fall Break).
Tuesday, October 27	In-class hackathon: work on your project with instructor support.
Thursday, October 29	R package and slides due before class; in-class lightning presentations.

Dates follow the University of Utah Fall 2026 academic calendar; Fall Break runs October 10–18, so no deliverable falls on a university holiday. If you anticipate a conflict, contact both instructors as early as possible.

Task

Develop an R package that solves a problem. This could be from your own research or you may get approval to do a related but modified example from (posted projects).

Midterm plan

By Thursday, October 1, submit a short plan describing your project. The plan should include:

A working title.
A one-paragraph abstract describing the problem you want to solve and why it matters.
The course topics (at least 3, see Requirements) you plan to incorporate.
The data (real or simulated) you will use to illustrate the package.

We will return feedback on Tuesday, October 6. You may be asked to adjust the scope of your project before you start working on it.

Deliverables

R package with a vignette, at least 2-5 pages, including example of real data or simulation (70% of grade)
Oral presentation of no more than 7 minutes (30% of grade)

Requirements

Basic requirements include:

R code is well documented
Package should be able to install
Available on github with README.md
Package sets a class with generic summary, plot, and print functions

Further, the package should incorporate the content of least 3 topics, including:

Rcpp
Vignette built in Quarto
Simulation and timing
*apply functions
data.table
parallel computing

Bonus points will be given for continuous integration.

Grading

The grade will be based upon clear communication and coding.