Can I import data from say, a Matlab, Excel (except CSV) or Minitab file into R?

My Prof insists on converting a data file into Excel (.csv) before importing it to R. Is this a standard procedure or can I also import from other file forms, including other data analysis software/ programs? I consider myself a novice in using R.

Yes, you can import files from other forms. For example, readxl is one (of several, I believe) package that allows you to import .xls and .xlsx files into R:

There are some nice tutorials on other formats here:

https://garthtarr.github.io/meatR/rio.html

You can also search for file types or software programs with R in google, or a more specialized search engine such as RDocumentation. Here is a link where I've searched for "matlab":
https://www.rdocumentation.org/search?q=matlab

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Thank you so much Mara - the article is really comprehensive. Informative!

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