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Software for Data Analysis

Current DSS Programming Workshops

Quarter Workshop Date Time Location Instructor(s)
Winter Python Workshop 1/17 - 3/31/2023 Asynchronous Canvas Danielle Kane
Winter Version Control with Git 1/18 - 3/31/2023 Asynchronous Canvas Danielle Kane
Spring R Workshop TBD Asynchronous Canvas Danielle Kane
Spring Unix TBD Asynchronous Canvas Danielle Kane

All DSS Programming Workshops are quarter long asynchronous courses held in Canvas starting in week 2. The total amount of participation time is approximately 3 - 4 hours (Unix, Git, OpenRefine) and approximately 7-8 hours (Python, R). Zoom sessions will be available, along with ways to receive help within Canvas.  Registered participants will receive invites to the Canvas workshop, click on the links above to register.

Canvas Workshops are Carpentries-based, these workshops can also be held in-person. Please contact DSS (libdss@uci.edu) if interested:

Asynchronous Canvas Workshops

Geospatial Workshop

Availability - Open to UCI Year Round Through Self Registration

This workshop focuses on working with geospatial data - managing and understanding spatial data formats, understanding coordinate reference systems, and working with raster and vector data in R for analysis and visualization.

Includes:

  • Introduction to Geospatial Concepts
  • Introduction to R for Geospatial Data
  • Introduction to Geospatial Raster and Vector Data with R

Instructor: Danielle Kane, please contact libdss@uci.edu if you have any questions.
OpenRefine (4 hrs)

Availability - Open to UCI Year Round Through Self Registration

OpenRefine is described as “a power tool for working with messy data” David Huynh - but what does this mean? It is probably easiest to describe the kinds of data OpenRefine is good at working with and the sorts of problems it can help you solve.

Instructor: Danielle Kane, please contact libdss@uci.edu if you have any questions.
Python Workshop

Availability - During alternating quarters - see Current Workshop Box Above

You can choose to take Programming with Python or Plotting and Programming in Python, you do NOT need to do both.

  • Track 1 - Programming with Python: 423 minutes (approx 7 hours): Python is a programming language that lets you work more quickly and integrate systems more effectively.  Python can be easy to pick up whether you're a first-time programmer or you're experienced with other languages.
  • Track 2 - Plotting and Programming in Python: 372 minutes (approx 6.2 hours): This lesson is an introduction to programming in Python 3 for people with little or no previous programming experience. It uses plotting as its motivating example.

Instructor: Danielle Kane, please contact libdss@uci.edu if you have any questions.
R Workshop

Availability - During alternating quarters - see Current Workshop Box Above

You can choose to take Programming with Python or Plotting and Programming in Python, you do NOT need to do both.

  • Track 1 - Programming with R: 410 minutes (approx 7 hours): R is a programming language and free software environment for statistical computing and graphics supported by the R Foundation for Statistical Computing. The R language is widely used among statisticians and data miners for developing statistical software and data analysis.
  • Track 2 - R for Reproducible Scientific Analysis: 511 minutes (approx 9 hours): The goal of this lesson is to teach novice programmers to write modular code and best practices for using R for data analysis. R is commonly used in many scientific disciplines for statistical analysis and its array of third-party packages.

Instructor: Danielle Kane, please contact libdss@uci.edu if you have any questions.
Social Science Workshop

Availability - Open to UCI Year Round Through Self Registration

This workshop teaches data management and analysis for social science research including best practices for data organization in spreadsheets, reproducible data cleaning with OpenRefine, and data analysis and visualization in R. This curriculum is designed to be taught over two full days of instruction.

  • Data Organization in Spreadsheets
  • Data Cleaning with OpenRefine
  • Data Analysis and Visualization with R

Instructor: Danielle Kane, please contact libdss@uci.edu if you have any questions.
The Unix Shell (4 hrs)

Availability - During alternating quarters - see Current Workshop Box Above

The Unix shell has been around longer than most of its users have been alive. It has survived so long because it’s a power tool that allows people to do complex things with just a few keystrokes. More importantly, it helps them combine existing programs in new ways and automate repetitive tasks so they aren’t typing the same things over and over again. Use of the shell is fundamental to using a wide range of other powerful tools and computing resources (including “high-performance computing” supercomputers). These lessons will start you on a path towards using these resources effectively.

Instructor: Danielle Kane, please contact libdss@uci.edu if you have any questions.
Version Control with Git (3-4 hrs)

Availability - During alternating quarters - see Current Workshop Box Above

Version control is the lab notebook of the digital world: it’s what professionals use to keep track of what they’ve done and to collaborate with other people. Every large software development project relies on it, and most programmers use it for their small jobs as well. And it isn’t just for software: books, papers, small data sets, and anything that changes over time or needs to be shared can and should be stored in a version control system.

Instructor: Danielle Kane, please contact libdss@uci.edu if you have any questions.