Data Lab at Tufts

Innovate. Analyze. Visualize.

Past Workshops

Video recordings and links to available downloads for selected Data Lab workshops are provided below. Click the play button on the embedded video to start watching. For questions or comments, please contact DataLab-support@elist.tufts.edu

Asynchronous Workshops

Are you looking to explore software at your own pace, whenever you want to learn? Please see below for a list of asynchronous workshops, which you can use right from your internet browser. All of the links below will open in a new tab.

You can also check out Tufts Udemy for more trainings, and the Data Lab Data Science Learning Resources or Data Lab GIS Learning Resources page for curated materials.

Introduction to R

An introductory R workshop that is suitable for self-guided study and covers the following:

  • Variables and datatypes
  • Working with vectors (arrays) and lists
  • Commands for descriptive statistics
  • R packages and the tidyverse
  • Reading data from a file
  • Working with data frames
  • Basic data wrangling (cleaning)
  • Creating and tweaking visualizations

Link: https://go.tufts.edu/introR

R for Data Manipulation and Visualization

This provides an introduction to loading, manipulating, and cleaning data using the statistical programming language R. It also covers additional skills in data visualization.

Link: https://tuftsdatalab.github.io/r-data-viz

Introduction to Python

This is an introductory Python workshop that is suitable for self-guided study that covers:

  • Variables and datatypes
  • Basic arithmetic and string manipulation
  • Working with lists, dictionaries, and tuples
  • What are functions and how to write your own
  • Using loops and list comprehensions
  • Control flow with conditional statements
  • The difference between copies and views
  • Reading technical documentation
  • Importing and using Python libraries


Link: https://go.tufts.edu/introPython

Introduction to Numpy

Learn how to use the numpy package for scientific computing, including:

  • Importing Python packages and common aliases
  • The NumPy numpy.ndarray a.k.a. np.array data structure
  • Different ways of creating, indexing, and slicing NumPy arrays
  • Broadcasting and using mathematical operators with np.array
  • Universal functions and aggregation functions
  • Iterating and mapping over elements in NumPy arrays
  • Row-major vs column-major order and array flattening
  • Shape manipulation and the difference between copies and views
  • Various options for importing and exporting NumPy arrays
  • Tweaking the textual representation of numbers using format strings
  • Reading files with Python using with and open()
  • Quick overview of creating and styling plots with Matplotlib
  • Creating a figure with multiple subplots in Matplotlib


Link: https://tuftsdatalab.github.io/intro-numpy/

Recorded Workshops

Intro to GIS using ArcMap

Are you interested in learning the basics of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) using ESRI ArcMap? This workshop covers introductory concepts of GIS, including how GIS works, who is using GIS, and the difference between GIS software. There is a hands-on activity that includes adding and symbolizing data, understanding and querying the attribute table, and creating a final static map product for publication with all required map elements. This workshop was recorded in February 2020 and is approximately 1.5 hours long.

Workshop data, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Intro to GIS using QGIS

Wouldn’t it be great if ArcMap was less expensive, open source, and more versatile? Never fear, QGIS is here! QGIS is a free, open-source software that allows you to create, edit, visualize, analyze and publish geospatial information on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. This workshop will cover introductory GIS concepts using QGIS. In this intro workshop, you’ll learn how to stylize layers, make selections, set your projection, and create a final map composition in QGIS. This workshop was recorded in February 2020 and is approximately 1.5 hours long.

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Workshop data, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Intro to Web Mapping using ArcGIS Online

In today’s day in age, static paper maps can only get you so far. Online web-maps allow viewers to interact with spatial data, allowing for more in-depth analysis and storytelling. In this introductory workshop, we will learn how to use ArcGIS Online to add layers to the map, style the map, configure pop-ups to make your map features informative, and present your map with a finished look and a nice user experience for mobile applications or embedding into websites. This workshop was recorded in October 2020 and is approximately 1 hour long.

Workshop data, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Story Maps: Not Your Average Presentation

Are you sick of making presentations using only PowerPoint? Esri Story Maps are web applications that let authors combine beautiful, interactive maps with narrative text, striking images, and multimedia, including videos. Impress your professors, bosses, or friends with these attractive and easy-to-use web applications while bringing your story to life. Story Maps can be embedded in web pages or exist as a standalone application and truly up your presentation game! This workshop was recorded in March 2020 and is approximately 1 hour long.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Embrace the do file: STATA Basics

This workshop is designed to familiarize you with Stata. We provide an overview of the Stata interface and basic functions. During the session, we introduce some descriptive statistics commands and recoding commands to help you familiarize yourself with Stata syntax. This workshop suits those who have not worked with Stata before or are seeking a refresher session.  The most recent workshop was recorded in February 2024 and is approximately 1 hour long.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.


Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Unlocking Qualitative Data with NVivo 

Learn to systematically organize, code, and interpret qualitative data—words, images, texts, video, and more—using the software NVivo. The workshop and materials were created and uploaded in November 2017.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Data Visualization & Tableau

Charts, graphs, maps, and infographics are great ways to communicate research, but not all visualizations are created equal. In this workshop, we will discuss how to create truthful and effective visualizations and look at a series of examples to see how visualizations can go terribly wrong. We will also start working with Tableau to make attractive visualizations. This workshop was recorded in October 2018 and is approximately 1 hour long.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.


Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Web-scraping and Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK)

This workshop covers the background and covers the basics of web scraping and natural language processing (NLP) using Python. The workshop and materials were compiled in 2018.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

A Short Introduction to Statistics

In this workshop, you will learn the basics of statistics, including data types and descriptive statistics. You will also learn about visualizing distributions, comparing distributions using t-tests, and comparing trends using regression. This recording was uploaded in August 2018.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.

Workshop code, slides, and material are provided at this link.