An Introduction to Advanced Computing in Science

Using computers to store and analyze data has firmly landed as the norm in science. Many advanced software tools are available to the every-day computer user that can help in achieving his or her scientific goals. Section 1 of the workshop introduces a suite of advanced computing skills that provide the foundation for becoming proficient at using generalized, broadly applicable, and freely available computing software. Generalized programming languages, like Python, SQLite, and R: can be used by any scientist to customize and streamline their data management and analyses. This workshop introduces valuable concepts, techniques, and resources to incorporate advanced computing into your work. To improve the repeatability and efficiency of your data management and analysis we present a short list of simple steps: 1) improve the documentation of your data through logs and metadata, 2) maintain an unprocessed or original form of the data, 3) use standard data file formats such as .txt and .csv, 4) use good null values, and 5) simplify your data into standard tabular structure within relational databases.