Starting next week, University of Houston Libraries will offer a series of workshops for faculty, staff, and students to hone their skills on a variety of research tools and practices. Register

Finding Data Workshop
Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
Participants will be introduced to commonly-used library data sources and open data portals, and will learn tips for finding data and discuss how to evaluate the quality of data sources.

Introduction to Network Analysis: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Tools
Thursday, September 26, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
Network analysis is a research method that scholars in disciplines from public health, to business, sociology and etc. use to explore and visualize relationships between objects, entities, or people. This workshop takes an introductory look at the components of the method and discusses ways that researchers are currently employing it.

Core Data Management Practices for Researchers
Thursday, October 3, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
This workshop presents the basic elements of data management that are essential for UH researchers in all disciplines. Topics include: Data management plans, file organization and documentation, storage and backup, security, compliance with funder and university policies, data preservation, and archiving. 

Tableau I – Introduction
Wednesday, October 9, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
Participants will use Tableau Public to create interactive data visualizations. The workshop will cover an overview of the program and provide hands-on experience creating basic charts and maps, as well as creating interactive web-based visualization dashboards. It will also discuss publishing to the Tableau Public web server.

Tableau II – Calculations and analytics
Wednesday, October 16, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
Participants will use more advanced features in Tableau to manage data, such as join, union and edit data. Participants will also use calculations and parameters to make views more interactive. It will cover analytics to help spot trends and forecast data. Taking Tableau I prior to this workshop is strongly encouraged.

Selecting Journals for Publishing Your Research
Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
This hands-on workshop discusses factors that could influence your choice of journals for academic publishing, including journal impact, publish frequency, review process, and other factors. Participants will leave the workshop with resources, handy tools, and strategies for making good choice for publishing your research.

Tableau III – Logical functions and customize dashboard
Wednesday, October 30, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
Participants will learn to use logical functions to determine if certain condition is true or false. The workshop will also cover building customized dashboard to make your visualization more appealing. Taking Tableau I and Tableau II prior to this workshop is strongly encouraged.

Introduction to R for Absolute Beginners
Thursday, November 7, 2019, 10:00am – 12:00pm
R is an open source software for statistical computing and graphics. This workshop is for people who want to begin to learn this powerful analysis tool but have little or no experience in any programming languages. The first half of this 2-hour workshop will focus on some basic concepts of coding and the second half will feature hands-on activities to learn basic R skills, such as installing R packages, importing files, and exploring data. Some troubleshooting tips and R resources will also be provided.

Data Archiving and Sharing
Wednesday, November 13, 2019, 10:00am – 11:30am
Increasingly research funders and academic publishers request or require that we share a portion of our data. This workshop covers a spectrum of sharing and archiving options, discusses considerations for choosing an option, and presents tips and tricks for preparing data for sharing and archiving. The content will be focused on a broad understanding relevant for researchers of all disciplines and at all stages of their academic career.