Learn about Data Science for Social Good Program

Would you like experience working with a data scientist on project serving the public good? Next Tuesday, January 9^th from 12-1pm, the UW Libraries will host an informational session on the Data Science for Social Good program in the Allen Library, Research Commons, Green A. Data Science for Social Good is an opportunity for graduate and advanced undergraduate students to work in a team-based environment for 10 weeks over the summer months on a data analysis and visualization project with a data scientist and community stakeholders. It is an excellent chance to build and enhance skills and offers a stipend for the 10 weeks. Applications open January 8^th and close February 12^th. Bring your lunch and join us! All students are welcome to attend this informational session to learn more about the program and to ask questions.

New UW Libraries mapping resource: PolicyMap

Average travel time to work by 2010 Census Tract

Want to track the median sale price of residential homes in the U.S. by census tract? Map how far away given neighborhoods are to the closest high-performing public school? Upload your own geocoded dataset to quickly view the data on an interactive map? PolicyMap, the UW Libraries’ newest data mapping tool, lets you do all of that and much, much more!

PolicyMap features US data on topics that will be of interest to a broad cross-section of disciplines, including demographic, real estate, health, education, lending, and quality of life data. You can view and download (as a .csv file) data in a number of different geographies (county, zip code, city, state, etc.), including down to the census block group level for some datasets. PolicyMap will also let the UW community upload and map geocoded data in .csv format to the platform and share their data/maps with the rest of the UW community. If you have questions or feedback, please contact UW Geography Librarian Kian Flynn.

UW grad students: apply now for Storytelling Fellows

Are you a graduate student looking to network across programs? Engaged in academic or professional work that you wish you could communicate to a broader audience? Interested in building your resume while learning how to tell compelling stories about meaningful topics?

If YES: the UW Libraries invites you to apply for Storytelling Fellows, an innovative, hands-on program designed to highlight the interests and accomplishments of UW graduate students, using digital-storytelling skills and technologies.

Storytelling Fellows

·         A Free Online Skill-Building Program for Graduate Students

·         Sponsored by the Research Commons & Libraries Instructional Design Team

·         10/18-11/8 with two synchronous online sessions on 10/21 and 11/4 (9:30am-12:00pm)

What is Storytelling Fellows?

It is a totally free three-week online program that will take approximately 10 accepted fellows through the start-to-finish process of envisioning and creating a digital-storytelling video suitable for an online portfolio, professional presentation, or academic project. Fellows will meet for two mandatory synchronous online sessions in order to discuss project ideas and gain insight into the art of storytelling, using the cloud-based program WeVideo.

Do I need to have any prior experience?

Nope! No previous experience with digital storytelling or WeVideo is required or needed. An online Canvas-based course will be provided to bring you up to speed on the finer points of digital storytelling.

When does the Fellows program run?

The online Canvas course opens 10/18 and closes 11/8. The two synchronous online sessions are on Saturday, 10/21, from 9:30am-12:00pm and Saturday, 11/4, from 9:30am-12:00pm. Preference will be given to those who can attend both of the synchronous sessions.

Where do I find detailed information about the workshop’s requirements?

Take a look at the syllabus.

How do I sign up?

Fill out this survey by no later than 10/13. We will cap the workshop at 10 people, so it’s best to sign up soon.

Check out the workshop’s trailer!

Inaugural Virtual Reality User Group meeting, 10/5

The Health Sciences Library is launching the first meeting of the Virtual Reality User Group with executive sponsors Dr. Edward Verrier, Professor and Chief of Surgery at UW School of Medicine and Tania Bardyn, Associate Dean for University Libraries and Director of the Health Sciences Library. This first meeting will take place on October 5^th, 2017 from 11-12pm in the TRAIL room (T216) of the UW Health Sciences Library. The VR User Group will be meeting quarterly to explore topics in VR, and to educate and raise campus awareness of health sciences uses of VR technology. At this first meeting, Ryan James of Pear Med will present and demonstrate VR equipment and software.

Everyone from the UW community is welcomed to attend and participate. Since space in the TRAIL room is limited, please RSVP by 10/4 and complete this registration form. This event will also be streamed for those unable to attend in-person, and a recording will be made available on the Health Sciences Library’s TRAIL website. If you have any questions, please contact Stephen Gabrielson.

Constitution Read-Aloud at UW Libraries

Tone up your civic engagement muscles by participating in the Twelfth Annual Constitution Read-Aloud on Friday, October 6, 12:00 - 1:15 p.m., 3rd floor Suzzallo Library.


All are welcome to listen. Those who volunteer as readers will be given several sentences to read. No rehearsal is necessary! The mood is informal, nonpartisan, and respectful.

It is not necessary to come for the whole time; many people stop by to catch a part of the reading, then come and go as they wish.

Summer Quarter Research Data Management Workshop @ UW Libraries

Do you create or use data in your research? Looking for tips and tools to better help you manage your research data, and preserve it for long-term use?

From August 14-17, the UW Libraries is offering Data Management Planning, an asynchronous online workshop for UW community members engaged in research with data. Topics will include getting started with data management planning, funder requirements for data sharing, metadata, tips to help keep you organized, sharing, archiving and preservation, and an introduction to tools and on-campus support to aid researchers.

Note: we will be offering two concurrent versions of this class, one for health sciences researchers, the other for multiple disciplines outside of health sciences. When you register for the class, please indicate which version of the class you’d like to attend. Thank you!

Full course information and link to registration is below. Contact us with any questions.

Data Management Planning Workshop

A free, tutor-supported online workshop

August 14 -17, 2017

Duration: Monday, August 14 - Thursday, August 17 (4 days)

Time Commitment: Approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour per day, for 4 straight days

Target audience: UW community members engaged in research with data.

Prerequisites: Access to the internet for each of the 4 days identified. A valid UW NetID is also required.

Description:

• This module-based workshop consists of activities and peer discussion forums that will provide tips on how to effectively plan for data management over the lifecycle of your research project.
• By asking students to share experiences with one another, this workshop gives you the opportunity to reflect on your research workflow and to see how various techniques and tools can be employed to most effectively manage, share and preserve your data.

Participation Process:

• This workshop will take place in Canvas over 4 days, with no fixed participation times (asynchronous).
• Each day corresponds to one online module, which includes a topic overview, resources, activity, and peer discussion forum.
• Discussion forums are the workshop's primary means of 'assessment,' so expect to post to forums daily.
• You will be guided through the course by a team of friendly librarian tutors, who will answer questions and provide feedback.

How to Join:

• If interested, please register via this Catalyst link no later than Friday, August 11, 2017.
• Space in the workshop is limited, and participants will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Students who register after capacity is reached may be placed on a wait list.

Comments from previous class participants:

• This is a great workshop -- exposing me to a lot of considerations about data management that I did not know about. The tutor responses have been really helpful. I was unaware of the data librarians on campus and will definitely reach out to them for more resources. Thank you!
• Very interactive with tutors appearing to be enthusiastic and eager to pitch in their ideas for any questions the workshop participants had. Thank you!
• Very helpful at all levels of experience
• Very helpful and important for anyone working with data.
•  I was really impressed with this workshop. It had so many wonderful resources and I learned a lot. The tutors were fantastic. ... The materials were great and easy to understand as well. It was good to know I'm heading in the right direction with data management and know how to really improve my data management. I come from an interpretive/qualitative background and often this type of research activity is learned on the job or through learning what not to do the next time around, so having this type of workshop can really help people like me prepare a lot better for the next big project. Thank you for all your hard work!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Data Services Team.

Upcoming Workshop 7/24: Exploring Statistical Datasets with Data-Planet

Join us for an exploration of the UW Libraries latest online research tool, Data-Planet Statistical Datasets.  Data-Planet is an interdisciplinary e-resource geared exclusively toward helping users find, display, manipulate, and cite statistical data. We are already seeing the benefit to users as they search for education, labor, transportation, environmental, health, immigration, and poverty data.  In this training, we’ll cover how to search for, analyze, and output data and you’ll get hands-on practice answering statistical reference questions and generating charts, maps, rankings, and other visualizations. Comparisons to other tools such as Social Explorer, SimplyMap and American FactFinder will also be included. The session will be held Monday, July 24 from 10-11am in OUGL 102. Please RSVP here.