In biological research, the amount of data available to researchers has increased so much over recent years, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand the current state of the art without some experience and understanding of data analytics and bioinformatics. An introduction to bioinformatics with r: a practical guide for biologists leads the reader through the basics of computational analysis of data encountered in modern biological research. With no previous experience with statistics or programming required, readers will develop the ability to plan suitable analyses of biological datasets, and to use the r programming environment to perform these analyses. This is achieved through a series of case studies using r to answer research questions using molecular biology datasets. Broadly applicable statistical methods are explained, including linear and rank-based correlation, distance metrics and hierarchical clustering, hypothesis testing using linear regression, proportional hazards regression for survival data, and principal component analysis.