What should we do in Autum 2019?

[bradduthie]

I have created a poll to gauge interest in different coding club topics. Please click the link below to rank your preference for different topics.

http://www.pollandmatch.com/chooser?pollId=5515ac94-73bf-4d39-a6b7-1d35f7de62e5

If there is a topic that you would like to see coding club do, but you don't see it on the list, respond here letting us know!

To sign up for the mailing list that @rosemckeon set up, click the link below.

http://eepurl.com/gCYZGP

[jejoenje]

Here's some ideas for further potential topics -

• Working with external databases from R (ie SQL) (could be particularly useful after a discussion on data management in R)
• Practical use of mixed effects models (although that's very stats-y)
• Using R to work with websites and extracting data (RSelenium)

[jejoenje]

I would also love a "base R vs ggplot" contest.... :-)

[rosemckeon]

A contest sounds like fun @jejoenje! I'd like to second the suggestion for working with SQL databases too.

I would also like to know more about extending ggplot2 - anybody had a go at this?
https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/ggplot2/vignettes/extending-ggplot2.html

If not I guess I can try and decipher it...

[adamaki]

Here's some ideas for further potential topics -

• Working with external databases from R (ie SQL) (could be particularly useful after a discussion on data management in R)
• Practical use of mixed effects models (although that's very stats-y)
• Using R to work with websites and extracting data (RSelenium)

I would also like a session on SQL in R. In fact, this would be top of my list.

I've done a lot of work with RSelenium for scraping websites (and it is awesome!), and I was planning to volunteer to run a session on it sometime, but never seem to have any spare time...

[bradduthie]

Both sound good @adamaki -- I definitely think that a session on scraping websites would be useful for people! Let me know if you want to find a good day to do it.

[adamaki]

@bradduthie ok I'll have a think about it and let you know.

[SBuckerfield]

The poll link isn't working for me, maybe it's because I was too slow and it's closed. But I would be keen on pros/cons of different mixed effects model selection procedures

[bradduthie]

That's strange @SBuckerfield -- I've resaved it on my end. Try again maybe?

http://www.pollandmatch.com/chooser?pollId=5515ac94-73bf-4d39-a6b7-1d35f7de62e5

@adamaki -- is there a Wednesday that you would be willing to do a webscraping topic?

[adamaki]

@bradduthie sorry I'm snowed under with fieldwork at the moment. Ask me again in a month or so!

[bradduthie]

Okay @adamaki -- no worries!

[bradduthie]

Hi All, I have tried to use the poll and the discussion here to come up with a working autumn schedule. This is very tentative -- anything is fair game to move around or replace. Most of the topics are things we have done in the past, but a while ago and with fairly low attendance. Anyone who wants to claim a slot for something else, please do. If anyone wants to lead a SQL session, or suggest a time for a baseR- vs ggplot-off (could be fun around the end of the semester? Could even do it at the pub?), let's do it! Other topics (e.g., Python) would also be excellent; the ones below are just what I know can be done (i.e., they are topics that I can lead, or someone else has tentatively agreed to lead) and have at least a bit of interest.

18 SEP. Randomisation, bootstrap, Monte Carlo
25 SEP. Introduction to Tidyverse
02 OCT. Key things to know about working in base R
09 OCT. General introduction to coding; how to get started
16 OCT. How to write use loops in R (for loops, while loops)
23 OCT. How to write manuscripts in Rmarkdown
30 OCT. How to write apps and slides using R Shiny
06 NOV. Topics on Remote sensing
13 NOV. Good practices for testing code in R
20 NOV. Using a graphics information system (GIS)
27 NOV. How to use version control (save and record the entire history of your work)
04 DEC. Predicting Generalised Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs)
11 DEC. How to develop individual-based models

It could also be fun to do some sort of hackathon, or group project together in GitHub.