Check Out the Complete Listing of Fall 2012 Workshops

Unless otherwise indicated, all sessions take place in the Digital Instruction Resource Center (DIRC), 14N-132.

Workshop in the DIRC classroom

Workshop in the DIRC; photo by L.Barry Hetherington

Pre-registration is required for some, but not all sessions. See below for details.

Resources from the OECD – Register
Fri, Oct 5, 10:00-11:00am, 14N-132
Contact: Katerine McNeill, mcneillh@mit.edu

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is coming to MIT! Attend a presentation on OECD Information resources by Kathleen DeBoer, Deputy Head of the OECD Washington Center.

Learn about the OECD iLibrary and information the OECD provides on countries around the world, in areas such as:

  • Development
  • Employment
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • Trade
  • and more…

Also, learn how to efficiently extract data from their vast array of statistics.

Note: For those interested in working for the OECD (http://www.oecd.org/careers), Ms. DeBoer will be available to meet in the afternoon to discuss the application process; if interested, contact her at Kathleen.DEBOER@oecd.org.

Please register for this session.

Introduction to R – Register
Thu, Oct 11, 1:00-4:00pm, 1-115
Contact: Jennie Murack, murack@mit.edu

Get an introduction to R, the open-source system for statistical computation and graphics. With hands-on exercises, learn how to import and manage datasets, create R objects, install and load R packages, conduct basic statistical analyses, and create common graphical displays. This workshop is appropriate for those with little or no prior experience with R. Note: MIT only: Athena login required.

Please register for this session.

Managing Your References: Overview of EndNote, RefWorks, Zotero, and Mendeley – Register
Fri, Oct 12, 12:00-1:15pm, 14N-132
Contact: Remlee Green, remlee@mit.edu

Using citation management software to create and maintain a collection of references or PDFs is becoming more common and important in today’s academic world. These software packages (EndNote, RefWorks, Zotero, & Mendeley) allow users to search databases, retrieve relevant citations, and build a bibliography to be added to a paper or thesis or stored for future reference. But which software package should you use, and how do you get started?

Please register for this session.

Zotero Basics – Register
Mon, Oct 15, 12:00-1:00pm, 14N-132
Contact: Mat Willmott, willmott@mit.edu

Zotero is a free, open-source program that helps you collect, manage, cite, and share your citations and files. With one click, you can save PDFs and citations for most articles, then cite them in Word or OpenOffice. Make a searchable PDF library and find out how to publish dynamic bibliographies and collaborate by using group collections. In this hands-on session, learn tips and tricks on how to use Zotero more efficiently to save you time and energy. Bring a laptop or use one of our computers.

Please register for this session.

Patent Searching Fundamentals – Register
Date: Oct 16, 12:00-1:00pm, 14N-132
Contact: Howard Silver, hsilver@mit.edu

While you won’t come out of this session qualified to be a patent attorney, you will be able to successfully find patent references from all over the world and know how to obtain patent text and diagrams. The session will be a hands-on practicum that will help de-mystify the patent literature and expose attendees to key resources for finding patents through free resources available on the web.

Please register for this session.

R Programming – Register
Thu, Oct 18, 1:00-4:00pm, 1-115
Contact: Jennie Murack, murack@mit.edu

This hands-on, intermediate R course will guide users through a variety of programming functions in the open-source statistical software program, R. This workshop covers blocks, loops, program flow, functions,S3 classes and methods, and debugging in R. This workshop is intended for those already comfortable with using R for data analysis who wish to move on to writing their own functions. Prerequisite: basic familiarity with R, such as acquired from an introductory R workshop. Note: MIT only: Athena login required.

Please register for this session.

EndNote Basics – Register
Thu Oct 18, 4:00 – 5:00 pm, 14N-132
Contact: Peter Cohn, pcohn@mit.edu

EndNote is a “personal bibliographic software” package which allows you to create and manage a database of bibliographic references. Learn how to find and use information more effectively in our hands-on workshop.

Please register for this session.

R Graphics – Register
Thu, Oct 25, 1:00-4:00pm, 1-115
Contact: Jennie Murack, murack@mit.edu

This introduction to the popular ggplot2 R graphics package will show you how to create a wide variety of graphical displays in R. Topics covered included aesthetic mapping and scales, faceting, and themes. This is an intermediate level workshop appropriate for those already familiar with R. Participants should be familiar with importing and saving data, data types (e.g., numeric, factor, character), and manipulating data frames in R. Note: MIT only: Athena login required.

Please register for this session.

Mendeley Basics – Register
Mon, Oct 29, 4:00-5:00pm, 14N-132
Contact: Peter Cohn, pcohn@mit.edu

Mendeley is a free tool that can help you organize and manage your citations and PDFs. Learn how to use Mendeley to discover the latest research, collaborate with others, and automatically generate bibliographies.

Please register for this session.

Introduction to Stata – Register
Thu, November 8, 1:00-4:00pm, 1-115
Contact: Jennie Murack, murack@mit.edu

This class will provide a hands-on introduction to Stata. You will learn how to navigate Stata’s graphical user interface, create log files, and import data from a variety of software packages. We will also share tips for getting started with Stata including the creation and organization of do-files, examining descriptive statistics, and managing data and value labels. This workshop is designed for individuals who have little or no experience using Stata software. Note: MIT only: Athena login required.

Please register for this session.

Data Management in Stata – Register
Thu, Nov 15, 1:00-4:00pm, 1-115
Contact: Jennie Murack, murack@mit.edu

This class will introduce common data management techniques in Stata. Topics covered include basic data manipulation commands such as: recoding variables, creating new variables, working with missing data, and generating variables based on complex selection criteria. Participants will be introduced to strategies for merging datasets (adding both variables and observations), and collapsing datasets. This workshop is intended for users who have an introductory level of knowledge of Stata software. Note: MIT only: Athena login required.

Please register for this session.