Purpose
and Contents
The week-long course will take students through the whole process
of collecting, analysing and publishing data using a modern computer
system.
Empahsis will
be placed on seeing the computer as a tool that improves the integrity
of data, making it easier to replicate studies and guarantee correctness;
and on working in a manner that makes it easy to transfer numerical
methods and results into academic publications.
We will begin
by discussing how data should be collected to make it suitable for
analysis, how files on the computer should be organised, methods
to deal with the large number of different data sources dealt with
by most scientists, and ensuring that data integrity is retained
and that an audit trail is recorded.
We will then
learn how to analyse data using R. After installing the
(free) software on their own computers, students will learn to write
short scripts to do their analysis. This will ensure that their
methods can be repeated with alternative data, and that an accurate
record of statisical methods and data sources is available when
writing scientific papers.
Finally, the
process of using R to produce professional quality
figures will be explained.
The course will
end with three days for the students to analyse their
own data, producing results and figures aimed at a particular journal.
For more information, e-mail Niall McGinty at mcgintyn@gmail.com
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