Data and Software Carpentries

What is Data Science?

Well, simply put, it is the act of collecting new and insightful ideas and methods from data sets. The modern world revolves around data, and data is an important factor in any business or organization. You have your finances, your social media interaction, your production, your employee and partner information - the list goes on. No matter where you are in life, you’re going to have to deal with data at some point. Data Science deals specifically with digital data, which is based on various systems of code that are interpreted, processed and altered by computers.

The Data and Software Carpentries are programs that are looking to teach people how to conveniently and effectively manage the data that they gather in their businesses, organizations and even research opportunities at school. The benefits are that research becomes less painful, and the techniques learned through the data carpentries lead to more research being done more effectively.

According to Phillip Doehle, the program coordinator in the Oklahoma State University High Performance Computing Center, the tagline of the Carpentries is to “help researchers get their work done with less pain and more convenience.”

Software and Data Carpentry are not the same thing, though there is much overlapping between the two and many of the same tools are used. The difference is that Data Carpentry deals with a method of organizing data in an easy and understandable way so that interpretation and analysis are more simple and convenient. A huge factor that plays into Data Carpentry is the Data Lifecycle, which consists of data collection, data organization/cleaning, data analysis and a positive production trend.

Alternatively, Software Carpentry focuses on programming skills and techniques such as software development. Coding is a big tool within this program, which is used to create a reproducible method. According to Evan Linde, a research cyberinfrastructure analyst from the OSU High Performance Computing Center, Software Carpentry can give you the introductory knowledge needed to get you out of a tight situation. For example, a graduate student struggling with a data problem can learn how to write a specific bit of code needed to link multiple processes together and solve that problem.

Now you might be thinking, “I have no experience with stuff like this, and I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with it!” According to the official Data Carpentry website, their initial target audience is “learners with little to no computational experience.” Even if there is a bit of a learning curve, the experience and benefits gained are worth the time investment.

Software and Data Carpentries are starting points for coding and data management. The idea of the Carpentries is “Reproducible Data.” What this means is that the data can be duplicated through different means. When a data set is duplicated through different methods, then error risks are reduced, results are validated and it shows that the data can be adaptive to multiple different conditions.

While the techniques learned in the Carpentries can be very useful and informative, they don’t necessarily make you ready to immediately go out and work at a research facility. The Carpentries have a larger emphasis on the academics of research rather than an industrial emphasis. Even so, they provide a beneficial and explanatory introduction to the world of Data Science and Data Analysis. The programs are beneficial for graduate students who are getting involved in research or are interested in concepts of data science. Faculty members have told me that the knowledge they gained from the Data and Software Carpentries helped them maximize the time that they spent as a graduate student when they were working with research because their data was organized and reproducible.

The Carpentries are an informative and practical method for somebody who is looking to delve into a career based around data science, as well as students who are involved in research opportunities. They provide a foundation for understanding how to organize and interpret data, as well as how to make that data applicable within various situations. They’re an opportunity that many don’t know about, and they can potentially give somebody an extra push in understanding their career or research choice.

Posted by Braiden Ellis, student staff member, Research and Learning Services

With a Little Help from Our Friends

Benefactors make the library a special place for everyone

In 1991, an event began that would soon become one of the most celebrated and most important nights of the year for the OSU Library.

The H. Louise and H.E. “Ed” Cobb Dinner Series is presented annually by the Friends of the OSU Library. The dinner, lecture and book signing is a fundraising event, and all proceeds benefit the OSU Library.

This year, Lee Child, the author of the Jack Reacher series, will be speaking at the event. Past speakers include James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, Neil deGrasse Tyson and S.E. Hinton.

But the event isn’t just for donors or well-known authors. Students have the opportunity to attend, as well. Each year, generous donors purchase a number of tickets for students, who can then enter to win them and attend the event. Attendees will enjoy a wonderful dinner, attend the book signing reception and listen to a seasoned author, all while supporting a wonderful cause and making our library a better place. The funds raised at the dinner support the Friends’ goal of making the library a resource for all students.

The Friends have generously sponsored so many programs, events and more that help students at Oklahoma State achieve their academic goals and truly make the library a safe, helpful, fun and educational place. In the past, the Friends have funded the laptop checkout expansion, the finals week giveaways at Edmon Low and branch libraries and, when it first began, 24-hour access to the library during pre-finals and finals week. They also fund a number of special programs, like some of the outreach, research and cultural programs.

If it weren’t for the generous support of the Friends of the OSU Library, Edmon Low would not be the same. I know that personally, the library is my favorite place on campus. Whether I’m studying, researching or just taking a break between classes, the equipment and technology available at the library have helped me succeed in school and fostered my interest and love of learning.

So, whether you visit the library once during your college career or it is your second home, never forget this special group who has helped make it into the incredible place that it is.

Posted by Jenny Berry, electronic communications intern

Data Culture in the Library

If I asked somebody what a data culture is, they would probably look at me with a disinterested, glazed expression, followed closely by a mumbled, “I don’t know.”

And they may not really care either.

I feel like most people tend to see the word “data” as a very scary and intimidating word, and this prevents them from learning about just how useful and informative data can really be. Most people also tend to think that data is strictly quantitative information, such as numerical statistics. However, data can be text as well (such as emails, interview notes and media reports), which is qualitative data.

When analyzed, data provides ideas and solutions to various problems and situations. This ties into data culture and the benefits it can bring to a company or organization.

A data culture is an organization that uses data to make decisions to improve themselves. Some business leaders may prefer to make decisions based on gut instinct, ignoring data because their way just “makes more sense” (at least to them it does). A data-driven organization follows the path that makes the most sense in correlation with the data, even if it doesn’t necessarily make sense from a conventional standpoint. This has proven to be far more strategic and efficient. Erik Brynjolfsson et al. al. from MIT’s Sloan School of Management conducted a study that showed data-driven organizations to have a five to six percent higher output and productivity than other systems in which organizations tend to go with what they “feel” is the best path.

The Data Culture Project provides a great method for learning how data can be useful and how to connect with others through detailed analysis. The Data Process described below is a step-by-step system from the Data Culture Project that details how to bring about a more data-oriented workplace. The OSU Library is piloting the Data Culture Project this semester and plans to offer it in the future for those who are interested.

The Data Process:

#1: Warmups
Anytime you get a group together for a team-building exercise, warmups are a great way to get things started. Quick and creative activities that help to establish a feeling of comfort and informality allow participants to be invested and confident, leading to more engagement, which leads to more results in the long run.

#2: Asking Questions
This is the first step in analyzing data. When we look at a data set, there are plenty of questions to be asked, and there are plenty of questions to be answered. Colleagues are divided into small groups to analyze a data set and develop insightful observations and questions. Now, this exercise isn’t particularly about answering any questions that are asked, but it is instead about thinking creatively to generate stimulating questions.

#3: Gathering Data
This step goes hand-in-hand with the previous step. Data is difficult to interpret sometimes, even more so when the data is wrong or unorganized. You might need to combine multiple data sets as well, because a single data set may not be able to answer every question.

#4: Analyzing Data
Oh no, here comes the hard stuff!
Not really, but this is how many people feel when it comes to analyzing data. There are many different ways to analyze data because there are many different types of data. If you’re having a hard time trying to figure out a data set, maybe you just aren’t using the right method for you!  Analyzing data with colleagues leads to a combination of different ideas to maintain positive trends.

#5: Telling Your Story
This is the fun part of the process (as if you weren’t having fun before). This allows you to be creative while explaining a data set to colleagues. Various types of displays such as sketches and word webs communicate the context of the data through a narrative. This also allows abstract ideas and numbers to be represented by a concrete visual display.

#6: Try It Out
The final step is simple: just try it out! This answers many questions you may have about your developed story and the data backing it. Is the data understandable? Does the story make sense? Is it compelling? The idea of narrating your data is to influence your audience, informing and propelling them into action to improve the data.

A data-driven culture isn’t something that immediately happens, and it definitely isn’t something that has immediate results. It requires cooperation and understanding among colleagues, and the entire organization needs access to data in order to practice analyzing and interpreting it. In addition, data literacy must be encouraged so that each member of the organization can effectively contribute to improving and developing a collective network to help make important decisions.

Posted by Braiden Ellis, student staff member, Research and Learning Services

Relax and Read at the Library

Everyone knows that college is a hectic time. Tests, papers, meetings and more fill our days, and often the most relaxing thing we do is sleep. Sometimes.

But one year ago, some at the Edmon Low Library set out to change that. This week, I sat down with Whitney Vitale, the assistant head of access services at the Edmon Low Library, to learn more about the inception of the Relax and Read Collection and why it is so beneficial for students.

The Relax and Read Collection began in the fall of 2017 after a few employees at the library wanted to create a space for students to relax and get away from the stress of school.

“We wanted to capitalize on this work-life balance issue and support the students,” Whitney said. “What can make life a little easier and help with self-care?”

Whitney plays a vital role in curating the collections. She orders books, both fiction and nonfiction, which will appeal to a variety of students. The library already receives copies of the New York bestsellers, but Whitney also places orders for cookbooks or patron requests.

More than anything, the goal of the Relax and Read is just that – to help people relax.

“Students need that time to get away mentally and decompress,” Whitney said. “It can be hard to do that, and I think that this is a way they can have those few minutes or hours to get away from their troubles.”

While the collection will continue to morph and change to adapt to patron needs, the goal will always remain the same.

”We want to take care of the non-academic half of the patrons,” Whitney said.

If there’s a book or genre you’d like to see in the Relax and Read Collection, talk to anyone at the Circulation Desk or feel free to contact Whitney directly.

Posted by Jenny Berry, electronic communications intern

For the Love of Maps

Not many people can truly say that their childhood interest in video games led them to their future career. Yet for Kevin Dyke, the head of the Maps and Spatial Data department in the library, that’s exactly what happened.

This week, I sat down with Kevin, and we discussed how he got started in mapping, some of his work at the Edmon Low Library and his ideas for the future of Maps and Spatial Data.

“When I was a kid playing video games, I fell in love with the interactive maps that you would use playing different games,” Kevin said. “That was my first real foray into loving maps.”

 From there, his passion only continued to grow. After studying history at Truman State University, he got his master’s in geography with an emphasis in geographic information science at the University of Minnesota. Eventually, Kevin and his wife both found jobs at OSU and moved to Stillwater.

Shortly after he began working at OSU in August 2016, he hosted his first Mapping 101 workshop. Mapping 101 has become widely popular since the first workshop. The students dive into the basics of geographic information systems (GIS) and different types of maps. In the future, Kevin hopes to expand his workshop offerings to other topics, like data visualization and coding languages, such as HTML, JavaScript and CSS.

“I want things that people will enjoy,” Kevin said. “I think these topics would be well received. For anyone in academia, there’s always uses for those sorts of skills.”

We also discussed the advancements he’s made in Maps and Spatial Data thanks to the generous donations of the McCasland Foundation. The gifts of the foundation have allowed Kevin and his team to digitize almost 2,000 maps. The McCasland Digital Maps Collection alone boasts nearly 40,000 page views.

“It’s been a long, fruitful relationship with the McCasland Foundation,” Kevin said.

And the digital maps aren’t just for OSU faculty, staff and students. The public can access the maps too. In fact, Kevin recalls chatting with people from as far as California who want to use the maps in their publications. The maps are part of the Congressional Serial Set, so they are public domain.

“When we get requests for a map, we provide people an archival quality digital copy at no cost,” Kevin said. “As a land grant institution, we’re here to serve the public.”

He is also in the process of perfecting a software he developed that allows users to select an area of land and find historic maps of that area. For example, if you wanted to see maps of the OSU campus from 1950, you could select the current campus area and the software would pull the maps from the digital collection that most closely resemble that space – “all within 150 milliseconds,” Kevin said.

If you ever need a copy of a map or simply have questions about something you’ve seen online in the digital collections, do not hesitate to reach out to Kevin! After speaking with him, it was very clear to me that he is extremely passionate about maps and helping other people love and understand them too. He’s knowledgeable, excited and more than willing to help anyone with their research.

The basement, where Maps and Spatial Data is located, is currently under construction. But you can reach Kevin through email or by setting up an appointment with him.

405-744-9731
Lib-map@okstate.edu

Posted by Jenny Berry, electronic communications intern

What I've Learned While Working at the Library

This week on the blog, I'm discussing some of the things I've discovered since I began working in the library. I decided to use some of the equipment I've learned about and create my very first vlog! I hope that you can learn something, too.

If you’d like to learn more about the resources I discussed in my vlog, check them out here!
Creative Studios: bit.ly/2CeZENj
Tech Tuesday: bit.ly/2pp3lvN
Mango: bit.ly/2C04Fy6
Relax and Read: bit.ly/2w4JW7C

Posted by Jenny Berry, electronic communications intern

Unlocking Creativity

New opportunities to use innovative technologies

In a world full of rapidly-developing technology, it can be overwhelming trying to keep up. But the Edmon Low Creative Studios makes it easy for you to stay in the loop. In addition to utilizing and growing your creative abilities, you can gain hands-on experience with a variety of technologies that can benefit you in your respective career paths.

The Creative Studios hosts a plethora of innovative technology that you can access year-round: 3-D printers, virtual reality suites, the recording studio and more! And these resources are not only for academic use. You can use them for personal projects, too. Explore your creativity in a whole new way.

While I may not be the most tech-savvy person on campus, I have definitely learned a lot and ventured out of my comfort zone in the Creative Studios. By using equipment that I have checked out at the Tech to Go desk, I’ve been able to push myself creatively and gain skills I did not yet have.

More recently, I checked out a camera to work on a few personal projects. I am a novice photographer, but it is something I’ve always wanted to explore more. I took home the camera, snapped a few shots and uploaded them to my computer. I can assure you, they looked much better than my amateur cellphone photography.

And while I am continuing to dabble in the land of digital photography, I also hope to venture into videography. The Tech to Go desk has camcorders available that I plan to test out soon.

Another aspect of the Creative Studios that I love are the 3-D printers. Seven 3D printers are available to bring your designs to life. Whether you’re an aspiring architect, artist, interior designer or engineer, students in various fields may benefit from this technology. The possibilities to what you can create are limitless. Jewelry, furniture models, a miniature Edmon Low Library (this may or may not have been done already) and virtually anything you can dream can be printed.

For the more musically-inclined students, there is a small recording studio available. You can reserve the room and use the Yamaha CP40 Stage Piano, the Presonus Studiolive 16-channel Audio Mixer and the Audio Technica Direct-Drive Professional Turntable. Maybe you’ll create the next hit song of 2018.

If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own podcast or TV show, reserve the Recording and Presentation Studio and get started. Or check out a microphone or a recorder and work from home.

High-powered Macs and PCs are available for use in the Creative Studios. Edit your photos, videos, podcasts or whatever masterpieces you’ve created.

If the thought of using any new technology sounds at all frightening, don’t worry. The employees in the Creative Studios are knowledgeable and friendly. They are always there to help you figure out any issues or answer questions. You can also find a few equipment and software guides on the Creative Studios website.

Whether your passions lie in music, designing, broadcasting, photography or more, when you visit the Edmon Low Creative Studios, you will walk away inspired. I know I did.

Posted by Jenny Berry, electronic communications intern