We organize data in spreadsheets in the ways that we as humans want to work with the data,
but computers require that data be organized in particular ways. In order
to use tools that make computation more efficient, such as programming
languages like R or Python, we need to structure our data the way that
computers need the data. Since this is where most research projects start,
this is where we want to start too! In this lesson, you will learn: In this lesson, however, you will not learn about data analysis with spreadsheets.
Much of your time as a researcher will be spent in the initial ‘data wrangling’
stage, where you need to organize the data to perform a proper analysis later.
It’s not the most fun, but it is necessary. In this lesson you will
learn how to think about data organization and some practices for more
effective data wrangling. With this approach you can better format current data
and plan new data collection so less data wrangling is needed. Data Carpentry’s teaching is hands-on, so participants are encouraged to use
their own computers to insure the proper setup of tools for an efficient
workflow. These lessons assume no prior knowledge of the skills or tools. To get started, follow the directions in the “Setup” tab to
download data to your computer and follow any installation instructions.