Would you like to learn how open-source programs can streamline your research? Are you interested in diving into a new coding language? Or perhaps you’re on a quest to make data management as seamless as possible?

The Lewis & Ruth Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship’s fall virtual workshop series will help you do this and much more.

The free virtual workshops are open to everyone at McMaster — faculty, students, staff — as well as community members beyond campus. Additionally, many of this term’s workshops are beginner-friendly so that people who are new to digital scholarship can participate in helpful training opportunities.

“We’re especially pleased to announce these workshops because they epitomize the Sherman Centre’s core mission,” said Jay Brodeur, administrative director of the Sherman Centre. “We believe that digital scholarship is interdisciplinary, collaborative, inventive, and often means reaching beyond the university and into the public.”

This term’s workshops will explore a wide range of topics and skills in digital scholarship, such as predatory publishing, an ingenious way to use Git, and introductions to programs including the Open Science Framework, Python, R, and SPSS. 

The fall term also features the launch of a brand-new workshop series on Research Data Management (RDM). Headed by Isaac Pratt, research data management specialist at McMaster, the series joins the Sherman Centre’s two pre-existing workshop series: Do More With Digital Scholarship (DMDS) teaches registrants a variety of new digital skills while the Data Analysis Support Hub (DASH) develops attendees’ software and analytical fluency.

Andrea Zeffiro, academic director of the Sherman Centre, added: “These workshops enact the Centre’s broader values by encouraging scholars and community members to learn new skills, challenge disciplinary boundaries, and forge connections in the broader digital scholarship community.”

The Sherman Centre, based at McMaster University Library, provides digital scholarship services for research and teaching that respond to the needs of faculty and students. To learn more, visit their website.

2021 Fall Workshop Series 

DASH: Intro to LaTeX 
Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 | 2:30-3:30 p.m. 

Register

This workshop will introduce you to LaTeX, a typesetting system commonly used in STEM disciplines to create high-quality documents and easily write mathematical equations. We will discuss tools for writing in LaTeX, the structural elements of LaTeX, text formatting, and commands for writing mathematical equations. You will learn the commands to create your first LaTeX document. This workshop consists of a synchronous workshop session, which will be recorded and shared publicly afterward.
 

DMDS & RDM: Best Practices for Managing Data in Your Research
Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 | 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Register

In this introductory workshop, learn about research data management best practices and how investing a small amount of time in organizing your data now can save you a lot of time and prevent future headaches. We will go over best practices for data planning, storage, organization, preservation, and sharing. This workshop consists of a synchronous workshop session, which will be recorded and shared publicly afterward.
 

DASH & DMDS: Version Control with Git
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Register

This workshop will give you a solid introduction to Git. Git is software originally designed to help manage vast, decentralized software projects with hundreds of authors, but it works just as well with many things that aren’t software, like data and text. Imagine having a complete archive of your work at every stage in its development! This workshop assumes no prior experience. This workshop consists of a synchronous workshop session, which will be recorded and shared publicly afterward.
 

DASH: Intro to R
Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Register

This beginner-level workshop will focus on basic concepts of R programming using R Studio. Various Data Types and Data Structures will be discussed as well as basic data manipulation. No prior knowledge of R programming is required for this workshop. This workshop consists of a synchronous workshop session, which will be recorded and shared publicly afterward.
 

DASH: Intro to Python
Thursday, November 18, 2021 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Register

This beginner level workshop will introduce you to the basic concepts of the world's most popular Python programming language. You'll learn to store data in Python data types and variables, as well as learn how to perform operations on numbers and strings. Python IDE Anaconda will be briefly discussed. No prior knowledge of Python is required. This workshop consists of a synchronous workshop session, which will be recorded and shared publicly afterward.
 

DMDS & RDM: Organize Your Research Projects with the Open Science Framework (OSF)
Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021 | 2-3 p.m.

Register

OSF is a free, open platform to support research and enable collaboration. Join us to learn more about this great platform and how you can use it to organize your research projects, build a space for your research group to work together, collaborate on files and protocols, and publish your research openly! This workshop consists of a synchronous workshop session, which will be recorded and shared publicly afterward.
 

DMDS: Predatory Publishing in the Era of Open Knowledge: Reducing the Odds of Falling Prey
Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021 | 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Register

Thinking about where to publish? Do you receive random invitations to submit your work for publications? Don’t get caught publishing in a questionable journal! This session will provide an overview of what predatory journals are and tips on how to avoid them. We will also include suggestions on how to avoid predatory conferences. This workshop consists ofa synchronous workshop session.

DASH: Intro to SPSS
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Register

This beginner-level workshop will introduce you to the basics of SPSS statistical software, how it works, and some basic descriptive statistics and statistical procedures. No prior knowledge of SPSS is required. This workshop consists of a synchronous workshop session, which will be recorded and shared publicly afterward.