# 2. Create a Research Project with Quarto and rUM

## Introduction

This is a collection of document templates, available through R, from your friends at the University of Miami (UM). \(R+UM=rUM\)

The `rUM` package will help you create research manuscripts by removing the configuration hassles commonly encountered when learning to write papers using R. `rUM` will initialize a new RStudio project and a Quarto file that includes the outline for a research paper. The Quarto file comes preconfigured with a YAML header (don’t worry if you don’t know what that means yet) with code chunks to load the `tidyverse` and `conflicted` packages. Manuscript sections have been created for Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion, and References. The project also includes a `.gitignore` file which is designed to help protect against accidentally leaking data when using git with websites like www.github.com.

rUM’s documentation can be found here:

- https://raymondbalise.github.io/rUM/
- https://github.com/RaymondBalise/rUM

## How do I get `quarto` and `rUM`? (Add a “quart o’ `rUM`”!)

1. Modern version RStudio (v2022.07 or later) ships with Quarto but you can install the latest version of Quarto from here.

2. Add `rUM` to your computer by:

   - using RStudio: click on the Packages tab in the bottom right windowpane, click the Install button, type rUM, and click Install.
   - downloading rUM from CRAN and installing it by running this code in R console:

       install.packages("rUM")

   - downloading the latest version of rUM from GitHub by running commands into the R console:

       if (!requireNamespace("remotes")) install.packages("remotes")
       remotes::install_github("RaymondBalise/rUM")

3. Use `rUM` by running this in the console of RStudio:

    library(rUM)

## Ordering `rUM` from the Menu

To create a research project that uses `rUM`, follow these steps. This will initialize a new RStudio project that has an `analysis.qmd` Quarto file using the `tidyverse` and `conflicted` packages and some other useful files which are described below.

1. Using the RStudio menus, choose: File > New Project > New Directory

2. Scroll down and then select `rUM` Research Project Template

   rUM Research Project Template

3. Specify the location of where your research project will be saved

   Choose location to save your rUM project in RStudio

## Add `rUM` into an existing folder/directory that does not have an RStudio project.

What if you have already created a folder containing the important files for your project? Create a new project in your existing folder! This will now be your project directory (complete with a `.Rproj` file).

1. Navigate to File > New Project > Existing Directory

2. Specify the location of where your research project will be saved

   Existing project working directory window in RStudio

3. Run the following script in your console:

    # Change the text inside the quotes on the next line to indicate the path to your folder/directory.
    PATH <- "~/Documents/blah"

    make_project(PATH, type = "Quarto (analysis.qmd)")

## What is in the project? (What is served with your `rUM`?)

A new project directory is created and it will be populated with these files:

- An aggressive `.gitignore` to help prevent the unintended sharing of sensitive study information or protected health information (PHI).
- `analysis.qmd` is a Quarto template for writing your research project. It has a preconfigured YAML header; Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion, and Reference sections; and a code chunk to construct your bibliography using `knitr::write_bib()`.
- A `README.md` template containing structured sections for comprehensive project documentation, including study details, setup instructions, and file descriptions.
- A `dated_progress_notes.md` file that automatically tracks project milestones, starting with the project creation date.
- An empty folder named `data`. This folder is listed within the `.gitignore`. That means that git should not track these files. This should help prevent data leakage but be sure to talk to a data security expert before sharing any biomedical projects on websites like GitHub.
- A `.Rproj` file with the same name as your project folder.
- Two text files, `packages.bib` and `references.bib`, which are used to hold details for your paper’s bibliography. Refer to the Methods and References sections, respectively, within the `analysis.qmd` file for initial examples of how to add/use references.
- `the-new-england-journal-of-medicine.csl` is the citation style language (CSL) based on the New England Journal of Medicine requirements.
- `apa.csl` is the citation style language (CSL) based on the American Psychological Association 7th edition requirements.
- Quarto only: `custom.scss` provides styling customization options for your Quarto document. Additional style sheets can be added using `write_scss()`.

Newly created files:

Display of newly created rUM project files in the RStudio Files pane

`analysis.qmd`:

Screenshot of analysis.qmd template structure using the visual editor layout

### Session

If you are new to R, ignore this.

    sessionInfo()
    #> R version 4.5.2 (2025-10-31)
    #> Platform: aarch64-apple-darwin20
    #> Running under: macOS Tahoe 26.2
    #>
    #> Matrix products: default
    #> BLAS:   /System/Library/Frameworks/Accelerate.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/vecLib.framework/Versions/A/libBLAS.dylib
    #> LAPACK: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.5-arm64/Resources/lib/libRlapack.dylib;  LAPACK version 3.12.1
    #>
    #> locale:
    #> [1] C/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/C/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8
    #>
    #> time zone: America/New_York
    #> tzcode source: internal
    #>
    #> attached base packages:
    #> [1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods   base
    #>
    #> loaded via a namespace (and not attached):
    #>  [1] digest_0.6.39     R6_2.6.1          fastmap_1.2.0     xfun_0.56
    #>  [5] cachem_1.1.0      knitr_1.51        htmltools_0.5.9   rmarkdown_2.30
    #>  [9] lifecycle_1.0.5   cli_3.6.5         sass_0.4.10       jquerylib_0.1.4
    #> [13] compiler_4.5.2    rstudioapi_0.18.0 tools_4.5.2       evaluate_1.0.5
    #> [17] bslib_0.9.0       yaml_2.3.12       otel_0.2.0        jsonlite_2.0.0
    #> [21] rlang_1.1.7