Geographic Data Science

This course

(Self-)Quiz

• Have you ever used data to make decisions in your life?
• Have you ever heard the term “Data Science”?
• Have you ever written a line of computer code?

Philosophy

• (Lots of) methods and techniques
  • General overview
  • Intuition
  • Very little math
  • Lots of ways to continue on your own
• Emphasis on the application and use
• Close connection to “real world” applications

Format

Eight blocks with:

• Concepts: videos + slides, readings
• Hands-on: concepts in (interactive) action
• Do-It-Yourself: practical material to do on your own

Content

• Blocks A-C: “big picture” content + computational tools (learning curve)
• Blocks D-H: “meat” of the course (lots of concepts packed)
• Rest of the course: prepare an awesome Computational Esssay

Logistics - Website

https://darribas.org/gds_course

Logistics - Teams

Code

Driving Vs automobile engineering

Python

Python

• General purpose programming language
• Sweet spot between “proof-of-concept” and “production-ready”
• Industry standard: GIS (Esri, QGIS) and Data Science (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, The New York Times, NASA…)

Self-directed learning

Prepare

• This is a flipped class: it’s like a gym, the “subscription” does not make you fit
• Bring questions, comments, feedback, (informed) rants to Teams/labs
• Teams, Teams, Teams
• Collaborate (it’s NOT a zero-sum win!!!)

More help!!!

This course is much more about “learning to learn” and problem solving rather than acquiring specific programming tricks or stats wizardry

• Learn to ask questions (but don’t expect exact answers all the time!!!)
• Help others as much as you can (the best way to learn is to teach)
• Search heavily on Google + Stack Overflow

Workflow - Before a Lab

1. Go over the Concepts and Hands-on sections of a block
2. Get started on the DIY
3. Record questions and post them on Teams prior to the lab

Workflow - Online Labs

1. Come work on the DIY sections
2. Live answers to questions posted
3. Support from demonstrators and module lead

Assignments

Assignments

• Computer tests: W.5 (20%) and W.10 (25%)
• Computational essay (W.12, 50%)
  • Equivalent to 2,500 word
  • Report (notebook) with code, figures (e.g. maps), and text
• Discussion board (5%)

NOTE: recommendation letters only for great students (>70)